Hearthome Destiny
by LilSheepish4427
Summary: In my first ever fanfiction, Dawn gets seperated from Ash and Brock and finds herself being forced to travel with Paul! And Ash and Brock make a new friend along the way... Ikarishipping!
1. Chapter 1

This is my first EVER ikarishipping fanfic, so please, not too many criticisms! I've read so many ikarishipping fanfics (I am a total supporter of ikarishipping, along with pokeshipping and contestshipping, but my favorite is ikarishipping!), that I was inspired to write one, too! Also, I've been annoyed by how many fanfics either don't include enough of Paul, or make Paul totally out of character! I know there are some times when Paul HAS to be out of character, or else it wouldn't make sense, but sometimes Paul is OOC the whole fanfic! It annoys the heck out of me! So I decided to make a fanfic where Paul is in character when he should be and out of character when he shouldn't be in character. Note: I find that making Paul act slightly like Drew (my fourth favorite Pokémon character OF ALL TIME) makes the fanfic a lot more satisfying, so Paul may remind you of Drew. Also, I was inspired to write a fanfic by the LACK OF GRAMMAR SKILLS IN MANY FANFIC WRITERS! Incorrect grammar annoys the heck out of me, and when I see these totally awesome ikarishipping stories ruined by a lack of grammar skills, I could almost cry…(sniff,sniff). Jk, I don't cry. But it does annoy me. So please, enjoy this MISTAKE-FREE (well, almost) ikarishipping fanfic!

Oh yeah, the disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters, or anything Pokémon-related. I just wrote the fanfic for fun.

"Hearthome Destiny"

"I can't believe we're almost at Hearthome!" Dawn squealed as she walked along the route with Ash and Brock. "I can't wait to participate in my next contest!"

Ash and Brock just smiled at the smiley blunette as she skipped along the route. It was only a week before her next contest, and she was determined to win this one.

She turned around to face Ash and Brock and started walking backwards. "And just imagine all the shopping we can do while we're there!"

Ash and Brock's smiles faded as they anime-sweat-dropped. They could still feel the lightness in their wallets from Dawn's last shopping trip.

It was a beautiful day- blue skies, fluffy clouds, Starly and Combee flying and buzzing around, the trees slightly swaying in the breeze, the gurgle from the river below. It couldn't be a better day; that is, until Dawn ran into someone.

Not watching where she was going, Dawn continued walking backwards down the path, not watching to see the path merge with another, and not seeing someone walk down the merging path. The two collided, and Dawn fell onto the ground. The person did not fall, but staggered a bit before looking down at the blunette, now on the ground.

"Dawn!" Ash and Brock called out as they ran up to Dawn, not stopping to see who it was Dawn ran into. They both held out a hand to help Dawn up, but she just smiled a little at them and said, "It's alright guys, I'm fine" before helping herself up. Turning, she faced the person she ran into.

"Look, mister, watch where you're going!" she started yelling, her sweet, smiling face now transformed into an angry one.

"Hn," said the person. "Troublesome."

Dawn gasped. "Paul?" She immediately stepped back, her face slightly pink. She looked down at her feet.

"Hey, Paul, what are you doing out here?" Ash asked, not having noticed Dawn's reaction (and being dense, as always).

"Where do you think I'm going?" Paul said a little harshly. But, after all, this was Paul. "I'm going to Hearthome to get my Relic Badge."

"So am I!" Ash said. "And Dawn is going to have another contest while we're there!"

"Dawn?" Paul asked sarcastically.

Of course, Dawn didn't let this comment go. She pretty much exploded. "Well, excuse me, your Rudeness, but _I'm _Dawn! And we've met before, so you have no excuse NOT to remember!"

Paul just smirked. "Hn. Well, I have better things to do than talk to people like you." He continued walking down the path.

Dawn was still angry: angry that he had forgotten her name, angry that he REFUSED to call her by name, angry at herself for running into Paul in the first place. She glared at the back of Paul's head. _Why is he such a cold-hearted, selfish, mean…cute, mysterious…wait, what? I mean, uh, uncaring, heartless jerk! _She mentally smacked herself. Why in the world did she have to think of Paul like that? Why did she have to like him, of all people?

Ash noticed Dawn's glare and, not being dense for once, knew she was still angry. But the thought flew out of his mind as he thought of something else. He yelled after Paul, "Hey, Paul! Wanna have a battle before you battle Fantina?"

Paul slowly turned around, a smirk present on his face. "Wouldn't be much of a practice battle, would it?"

Ash's face turned red with anger. "Hey! I'm a good trainer, Paul: nice to my Pokémon, unlike you! _And_ I have as many badges as you do! You're no better than me!"

Paul's smirk was replaced with an expression that plainly said: _pathetic. _

"Fine," Paul said, now with a bored expression. "Let's make it quick. I can't afford getting behind in my Pokémon's training."

Paul and Ash set up a battlefield on the edge of a cliff. Below the cliff was a small river, moving lazily in the heat of the day. Brock stood where the ref usually stands, and Dawn stood watching, leaning against a nearby tree. She was still angry with Paul, but the anger was engulfed by her excitement of watching Ash and Paul battle. There was a strange sense of happiness that came over her whenever she saw Ash and Paul, particularly Paul, battle. It was something about the way Paul called out his Pokémon, totally focused and ready to destroy his opponent. Unfortunately for Ash, Paul generally _did_ destroy his opponent.

"Turtwig! I chose you!" Ash called out.

"Chimchar! Stand by for battle," Paul said, his voice steady and calm, as opposed to Ash's voice, the excitement of being in a battle showing.

The Sinnoh starters faced each other, ready to follow their trainers' command. But neither was giving any commands. Turtwig and Chimchar looked at Ash and Paul, respectively, expectant of their commands. Dawn was also wondering what was going on.

Apparently, Ash and Paul were having a stare down, and Paul, being the master of keeping a straight face, was winning. Ash realized this and his face turned red again. Paul smirked at Ash. "Anytime soon will be nice."

Ash's face, already red with anger from Paul's comment before the battle and from losing the stare down, turned a bright crimson as he held his anger in.

"Oh, look at that," Paul said, still smirking. "Ash is getting red. Did I, perhaps, upset him?"

Dawn sighed. Why did Paul have to be so irritating?

"Why do you have to be so irritating?" asked Ash, mirroring Dawn's thoughts.

"Why do you have to get upset over every little comment?" returned Paul with a bored expression.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk to your Pokémon?"

"Why do you have to get on my case about that every single battle we have?"

"Why do you have to be such a jerk in general?"

"Why can't you think of anything other than how much of a 'jerk' I am?"

The comments were shot across the battle field like bullets, each one returned with another. Turtwig and Chimchar, apparently having been forgotten, were sitting down in the middle of the battlefield. Turtwig was taking a nap, and Chimchar was watching the fight between Ash and Paul as it became bigger.

By this time, Ash was screaming at Paul, but Paul kept the same monotonous tone he had at the beginning of the fight.

"Because you ARE a jerk!"

"Yeah, I got that. Tell me something you haven't told me yet."

Brock, by this time, was also sitting down, watching the fight. He sweat-dropped at how childish the whole ordeal was. Croagunk appeared out of nowhere and stood beside Brock. Its hand started to glow purple, and it looked at Brock, waiting for the okay.

"Nah, they'll be fine," Brock said. "They'll be able to solve their problems without any violence… hopefully." Croagunk's hand stopped glowing purple, and it continued standing next to Brock, its gaze steadily resting on the scene before it.

Dawn, originally leaning against a tree on the side of the field opposite Brock, was now sitting in the tree's shade, enjoying the fight between Paul and Ash. She thought it was hilarious how childish Ash was being, and how calm Paul was the whole time. She giggled. Unfortunately for her, Ash heard this.

"Stop giggling! I'm being serious!" Ash yelled a little quieter than he had been yelling at Paul.

"But it's funny!" Dawn retorted, now standing.

"It is NOT funny!"

"What a lovely couple."

Ash and Dawn both turned their heads to Paul. Ash's face was not red with anger anymore, but had a confused look on it. Of course, he's being dense again. Dawn, on the other hand, was offended by the comment and whatever anger Ash had lost was now gained by Dawn. I mean really, why does anyone think Ash and Dawn will be a couple? The only hope Ash has for a girlfriend is Misty. No offense Ash, you're my third favorite character behind Barry.

Anyway, ignoring my senseless rambling, back to the story.

Dawn fists were balled at her sides as she glared at Paul. Ash, still confused, said, "Wait, Dawn and I aren't a couple…"

"Sure sounds like one to me," Paul said with a straight face. Even though he was talking to both Ash and Dawn, his comments seemed to be more directed at Dawn. Dawn didn't observe this; she was too angry.

"Look, Paul, I've had enough of you today," Dawn said as calmly as she could manage.

"I'm sure you have," Paul interrupted.

Dawn was further enraged by his interruption. She took a deep breath and continued, "I think it would benefit everyone here if you left."

If she wasn't so angry, she would have never told Paul to leave. In fact, seeing Paul was the highlight of her days. But he was being impossible, so she had to.

He kept his face straight, but his eyes betrayed slight disappointment. He quickly hid this with smirk. "Fine. Guess you two lovebirds need some time alone."

THAT WAS IT. Dawn couldn't take it anymore. His cold attitude, his heartlessness, and the calmness with which he carried it out. Nothing seemed to make him mad! And, he was an expert at making others mad. Dawn was fed up with him. Brock saw this and immediately stood up.

"Now, Dawn…" he started. But it was too late; Dawn had made up her mind.

She ran for Paul. Paul had already turned around and was going to pick up his bag by the edge of the cliff. He didn't see her coming. When Dawn reached Paul, she stood behind him, an infuriated expression on her face. Paul turned around and, surprised, found Dawn, seething with anger. Then he did the stupidest thing he ever did in his life.

He smirked.

Dawn stamped her foot into the ground. "That's IT Mister!" But she never finished her thought. Paul and Dawn were on the edge of a very unstable cliff. Dawn's foot stomp immediately crumbled the ground below them. Dawn looked down and saw the ground underneath her disappearing. She looked up at Paul, her previously angry expression covered up by a terrified one. Paul's onyx eyes betrayed a bit of fear. This made Dawn even more frightened- if Paul was scared, you had every right to be scared and possibly scream. Which is exactly what Dawn did as she started falling.

Ash and Brock, incredulous to what just happened, were frozen with shock. When Dawn and Paul started falling, Brock came to his senses and yelled, "Dawn!" (Sorry, Paul, but Brock doesn't really talk to you, so why should Brock yell for you? Well, there was that one episode where you talked to Brock but… look at me, rambling on again. Back to the story!)

As Dawn fell, she screamed, flailing her limbs. She didn't know what to do. She was scared- the most scared she had ever been in her life. So, understandably, she fainted.

Paul (being the ninja he is) was calmly descending along the side of the cliff, looking for a safe way to get down. But Dawn's screams were not helping him concentrate. Irritated, he looked at Dawn. Unfortunately, she had fainted. _Great,_ he thought. He reached out to grab Dawn. He was able to grab Dawn's hand. He propelled her to him and held her bridal style. (What a cute scene! :D) All the while, Paul and Dawn fell closer and closer to the river below…

Me: Omg, that was actually pretty good, I think. Good length, ends with a nice cliff-hanger, and I even got a cute PaulxDawn scene in! Am I great or what?

Paul: What.

Me: I said-

Paul: I know what you said.

Me: Then why… OHHHHH! Wow, thanks Paul. Anyway, you shouldn't be back-talking to me. I can do…bad stuff to you!

Paul: Psh. Like what?

Me: (writing) But suddenly, Paul forgot how to swim! When he fell into the river, Dawn swam out, but Paul could not. He sank towards the bottom of the river, losing precious air with every precious second-

Paul: Okay, I get it. Fine. I'll be good.

Me: Yay! Oh, and, to all those viewers out there, review please! I really want to know how I did!

Paul: They're not going to review.

Me: (lifts up pen and prepares to write, glaring at Paul)

Paul: Okay! Fine! I'll stop!

Me: Thank you Paulie!

Paul: …


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, it's me again! I'm here to write the next chapter to "Hearthome Destiny"! Aren't you excited?

Paul: They're not excited.

Dawn: Paul, don't be mean!

Paul:…

Me: Thanks Dawn! Now, for the fanfic!

By the way, I was re-reading one of the best Pokémon fanfics I have ever read (it was one of those that includes multiple shippings, and it had my three favorite in it!) . It was amazing because even though ikarishipping was only a small part of it, it was still important to the story, had a good amount of Paul, and Paul wasn't OOC at all! It was perfect! It motivated me to write this chapter AND try to keep Paul in character and a little less like Drew.

Drew: But EVERYONE should try to be like me!

Me: ! How did you get here? You're not even part of this fanfic!

Drew: Well I should be.

Me: This is IKARISHIPPING, and it's in Sinnoh. Why in the world would YOU be in it?

Drew: 'Cuz I rock.

Me:… Drew, get out of here before I call security.

Drew: Fine (flips hair and walks away)

Me:… Anyway, here it comes! Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: There's no way I own Pokémon or its characters. I'd tell you if I did.

Dawn opened her eyes but couldn't see anything.

Everything was just a blur. She couldn't remember anything. She couldn't remember where she was.

Then she felt something holding her, something warm, strong, protective. She felt safe for a second. But then she realized.

The thing holding her was Paul.

Why was Paul holding her?

Oh, yeah, they fell off a cliff.

And were currently falling.

Dawn's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to scream. Nothing came out. She was too scared. And being unable to scream brought her level of terror even higher. She began to hyperventilate.

Paul, on the other hand, was being as calm as one could be while pummeling to their death. But he knew they had a good chance of surviving- they were falling right into a river. They could easily swim to safety, assuming they don't hit any large rocks or anything. And if they didn't hit the river, they would hit the forest nearby. Yep, he was feeling pretty good at the moment- unlike Dawn.

Dawn was TERRIFIED. She held on tightly to Paul, her only lifeline. If they weren't falling from a great height, they probably would be blushing. But, seeing how this would do them no good whatsoever, they kept their mind on their impending doom and how to avoid it.

As they fell closer to the ground, Paul saw that they were going to land in the river. He braced himself for impact. Dawn, still freaking out, didn't acknowledge the fact that they were going to fall into a river. And when she did acknowledge the fact, she was IN the river.

The cold water of the river shocked her. For the second time in the past five seconds, Dawn fainted. Which was really bad for her, as she was in a river and now unable to swim.

Lucky for her, Paul was a great swimmer. He was able to hold onto Dawn and keep both of their heads above the water. But the rapids of the river were dangerously fast. They were helpless. Paul focused only on keeping them alive as the rapids pushed them down closer to a bend in the river.

Paul, seeing this bend as an opportunity to escape, took a deep breath of air and starting swimming as hard as possible against the rapids towards the bend. It was actually working. Instead of turning with the bend, Paul was able to pummel through the rapids that turned the river. With one last burst of energy, he swam hard, tightening his grip on Dawn. Soon, he reached the shore. He pushed Dawn up onto the wet sand and pulled himself out of the water.

He fell onto his back and panted heavily. He looked up at the sky as he lay on his back. He noticed a change in shade of blue; the sky was now darker. _Is it really that late?_ Paul thought to himself.

He turned his head slowly. He was so weak; he could barely register the unconscious girl lying next to him, her head turned to face him. He could barely notice the steady rising of her chest, confirming the fact that she was still alive. _She's so peaceful…_ Paul thought as he watched Dawn, his eyelids feeling like lead and drooping lower and lower. This was his last thought before he drifted off into a greatly needed sleep.

"Dawn!" Brock yelled after recovering from the shock he received when the ground underneath Dawn and Paul's feet began to crumble. Ash was brought back down to earth when Brock yelled. He ran with Brock to the edge of the cliff as Dawn and Paul hit the river.

"Oh, no! Dawn!" Ash yelled. He reached to his belt to grab a pokeball. He didn't know which; he just knew he had to help them in some way.

Brock grabbed Ash's arm. "No, Ash. There's no way to help them. They're already too far down the river."

"But I have to help them!" Ash yelled, trying to free his arm from Brock's rock-hard (ha ha, corny joke) grip. You know how stubborn Ash can be. But Brock wasn't letting his arm go.

"Ash, just stop," Brock said, sighing. "C'mon, if you really want to help them, we have to move _now_."

Ash sighed and stopped trying to free his arm. Brock let go. "Fine," said Ash. "Then what are we going to do?"

"Well, this river leads to Hearthome," Brock explained. "I'm sure they'll go there. It's the closest city to where we are now. We'll meet them there."

"Alright," Ash said, now smiling. "We'll meet them there!"

Pikachu, on his shoulder, imitated Ash and said, "Pika pika!"

Ash went to recall Turtwig, who was still sitting on the battlefield, sleeping. He saw that Chimchar was also there, taking a nap. "Oh, crud. Paul forgot Chimchar."

"And his bag," added Brock, picking up Paul's bag, which was right next to where Dawn and Paul fell.

"Well, I guess we'll have to bring Paul's stuff, too," Ash said. He looked around for Chimchar's pokeball. "Hey, Brock, do you see Chimchar's pokeball anywhere?"

They looked around the battlefield but could not find it. Suddenly, they heard a rustle in a nearby tree. They turned their heads, but didn't see anything causing the noise. Instead, they found Dawn's bag, resting on the bottom of the tree. "And here's Dawn's bag…" Ash said. He looked at Brock. "This isn't good. How will Paul and Dawn be able to get to Hearthome safely without their Pokémon?"

"I don't know, Ash," Brock said. "But I'm sure they'll manage. After all, Paul's been able to travel by himself all these years. If he can handle that, he can handle getting him and Dawn to Hearthome. But we can't worry too much about that. We have to find Chimchar's pokeball."

"Right," Ash said, reassured by Brock's words. Of course they'd be okay. Paul's tough. He can handle it…But will Dawn be able to? "Hey, Brock? Didn't you hear that rustle come from this tree? I wonder what caused it…"

Ash's question was answered. An Aipom emerged from the tree, dropping lightly to the ground.

"Oh, it's just an Aipom," Brock said. The Aipom's creepy smile (seriously, it can be really creepy sometimes) grew wider, and from behind its back the Aipom produced a pokeball.

"There it is!" shouted Ash. "Chimchar's pokeball!"

"Ai-pom!" the Aipom giggled with glee and turned to run.

"Get it!" yelled Ash as he and Brock started chasing the Aipom.

When Dawn opened her eyes, all she could see was a bright light. "Am I dead?" she wondered aloud.

"It's a wonder you're not."

Dawn jerked herself up. "Wa-what…who's there?"

As she sat up, she was able to see her surroundings. She was apparently on a makeshift sled of some sort. _It's a little splintery…_ Dawn thought. _Wait, why am I on a sled?_

"Hn." Dawn heard the voice again. She turned around to find none other than Paul, pulling the sled Dawn was on. "So you're finally awake."

"How long have I been asleep?" Dawn asked.

"About a day," Paul said.

_A day? _thought Dawn. _Well, I _was _exhausted. _

"Why am I on a sled?" she asked.

"Did you want me to leave you?" Paul glanced at Dawn for a moment with an irritated look before turning back and focusing on pulling the sled.

_Obviously, Paul isn't in a friendly mood, _Dawn noticed. She decided to accommodate for Paul's mood and be silent. Which worked for a minute.

"Well?" Paul asked, breaking the silence.

Dawn looked up at Paul and saw that he was looking at her with the same irritated look. "What?" Dawn asked, confused.

Paul let out an exasperated sigh, like he couldn't believe her stupidity. Which he couldn't. "Well, aren't you going to get off the sled and walk like a _normal _person?"

Dawn blushed, mumbled a "sorry", and got off the sled. Paul let go of the vine that pulled the sled and started walking. All the while, he didn't look back at Dawn.

Dawn started walking a little bit behind Paul at first, still trying to forget her embarrassment. But her boredom accumulated and soon she was too bored to not talk. Dawn quickened her pace and was soon walking next to Paul. "So, where are we going?" Dawn asked, turning her head to Paul.

"Hearthome." Paul said this very abruptly.

_Guess Paul isn't in a very talkative mood_, thought Dawn.

She tried to be silent but discovered that silence can be deafening. She couldn't take the quiet anymore.

"How are you able to travel by yourself all the time? I mean, I wouldn't be able to stand all this silence!" Dawn said.

"Hn," Paul said, not even looking at her. This irritated Dawn. She started walking faster and was walking backwards in front of Paul. He just glared at her.

_Geez, he looks irritated. What did I do? _thought Dawn. _Oh yeah. Pretty much _everything_. _

But Dawn didn't stop walking backwards, being fully aware that this would annoy Paul even more.

"The last time you walked like that, I believe you injured yourself. And me," Paul finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but there's no one else walking around here," Dawn said, sticking out her tongue.

"That's mature," Paul said, smirking. Dawn, seeing that Paul's fleeting good nature had been restored, smiled.

They walked like that for a short while (Paul smirking and Dawn smiling) until Paul's smirk faded and he said, "You should stop walking like that. You'll probably fall again."

"What, are you _worried_ about me?" teased Dawn, smiling.

"No, I'm worried about _me_," Paul replied, ignoring Dawn's teasing.

Dawn frowned. "Fine," she said, walking beside Paul.

Once again, they walked in silence. _Finally_, thought Paul. _Some time to myself. How does Ash stand her?_ He glanced over at Dawn, who was looking up at the sky and at her surroundings, an amazed look on her face. It looked as if she was amazed that the sky could be so blue; that the forest could be so quiet; that the river, which had nearly killed her, could be so peaceful. The sweet smile on her face was enchanting. Paul stared at her, enchanted by Dawn, until he realized he was staring and quickly turned his head away. _Oh, that's how. _

"Great. Now what?"

After chasing the Aipom through the forest to take Chimchar's pokeball, Brock and Ash discovered they had a bigger problem- finding their way out of the forest. Sure, they were able to take the pokeball out of Aipom's hands after Pikachu shocked it. But they had chased the Aipom deep into the dark, mysterious, unfamiliar forest. Every tree looked the same. Every path took them back to where they originally started. Even Ash's usually stubborn spirit gave up after his feet nagged him for a break. So Ash and Brock sat down and decided what to do.

"Well, I have about three days' worth of food, so I think-" Brock stopped short as he reached behind him for his backpack. But he didn't feel the rough fabric of his backpack. "Oh, no." Brock mentally slapped himself. He left his pack back at the battlefield! Ash suddenly realized that he, too, forgot his backpack.

"Oh, God!" Ash yelled, standing up. "What are we going to do?"

"It's alright Ash! Calm down!" said Brock, also standing up. "We'll just…" He looked around, hoping he would receive some sort of inspiration from his surroundings. As he searched, he saw a tiny flash of white near a bush. Looking closer, he saw it was a Starly. It was slowly approaching them. But Ash's yelling was hindering its progress, as it was scared by his loud noises.

"Shh, Ash!" Brock said quietly, keeping his eyes on the small bird Pokémon. "I have an idea."

That's it! Chapter 2 is FINISHED! Whoo! I have to admit, this one wasn't very good, but… oh well. I AM just a beginner.

Paul: Excuses, excuses.

Me: Shut up, Paul. I'm in charge 'round these parts, and I demand respect!

Paul: Psh, no way.

Me: (glares) Whatever. I'll get my respect someday…

Anyway, review please! I love to know what you think and how this fanfic could be better. Criticism welcomed! Compliments also welcomed!


	3. Chapter 3

Another chapter! Fun fun!

Quick feedback- from the following list of characters, which one should I bring in a chapter? Note: one of them may appear anyway.

Maylene, May, Drew (yay arrogance!), Harley (he's the best! I luvs you, Harley!), Cynthia (well, she's sort of a boring character, but that's why I'm having you decide), Reggie (brotherly tension!), or…ummm…Barry! Leave answer with a comment on this story. Please don't waste a whole comment on your answer. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Pokémon or its characters.

"How much longer?"

"…"

"Paul? Do you know how much farther we have to walk?"

"…"

"Paul?"

"…"

"Paaaauuuul? Paaaaaauuuuuuuuul?"

Paul couldn't take it. After walking with her for one hour, he discovered Dawn was a talking machine. A malfunctioning talking machine that couldn't STOP talking. He gritted his teeth. "_How _do Ash and Brock put up with you?"  
>"Probably 'cuz I'm pleasant to travel with."<p>

He snorted. 'Pleasant isn't really the right word…'

"What was that?" Dawn asked, peering over at Paul.

"Nothing."

"Okay."

There was another short period of silence. "Hey, Paul? Do you know where we are?"

Without looking at the blunette, he said, "Of course I know. We're right by the Moonlight Forest."

Suddenly, Dawn was silent. Paul walked on, thankful for a few seconds of silence. Eventually, he glanced to the right, wondering why she was being so quiet. She wasn't there.

He looked behind him. He saw Dawn about a hundred feet behind him, her head hung low and her shoulders slumped. Paul sighed. He walked back to where the blunette was standing. "Let's move, Troublesome."

She looked up at him. Much to Paul's surprise, he saw sadness in her eyes, but only for a moment. She immediately gave him an unconvincing smile. "Okay, I'm coming."

"Hn." They started walking again, but Dawn was completely silent. He glanced at her. Her head was still hung low, and her arms were crossed in front of her stomach. Something was wrong, _definitely_ wrong. "What's wrong." Paul didn't ask it like it was a question, but a plain fact.

Dawn looked up at him, giving him another unconvincing smile. "Oh, nothing."

"Sure doesn't seem like nothing."

Paul's onyx eyes bore into Dawn's, searching for the reason of her distress. _Woah, why do I even care? She's just some troublesome girl…_

Before Paul could finish his thoughts, Dawn spoke. "It's just…I'm really tired. Could we set up camp right now?"

Paul looked up into the sky. By the position of the sun, he could tell it was about six o'clock. "We'd get to Hearthome faster if we keep going a few more hours."

"I know… it's just…," Dawn trailed off. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, not knowing exactly what to say.

While searching for the rest of her sentence, she heard a sigh. She looked up at the lavender-haired boy.

"Fine," Paul said. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was exhausted, too. After two days of nothing but walking and craving for silence, Paul had little energy left. "I'll go into the forest to look for some wood for a fire. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. While I do that, look for some berries and meet me back here. "

"…In the forest?"

Paul turned his head to face the blue-headed girl. "What?"

"Um…" Dawn blushed, feeling stupid. "Um, the berries. Should I, um, get them in the forest?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Where else would you get them?"

"I don't know… I was just clarifying…," Dawn trailed off again.

Paul kept his eyebrow raised. Something wasn't right. Dawn was acting very strange, and he had no idea why. And, deep down, he really wanted to know. He didn't want Dawn to be like this but for her to be her normal, happy, energetic self.

As Dawn started walking towards the forest, Paul called out, "Hey, Troublesome."

The girl turned around, looking sadder than before. _Nice going, Shinji. That's always the best way to approach an emotionally unstable girl._

"Erm-" started Paul, thrown off a little by his mistake. "I, um, just wanted to see if you were okay."

Dawn gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. No need to worry!"

Paul nodded before heading off to another part of the forest to search for wood. _See? No reason to worry. She's just exhausted, no reason to worry at all. _Paul kept telling himself this as he walked into the Moonlight Forest.

Dawn watched Paul until he had disappeared from sight. She sighed when she could no longer see him. She had always hated lying.

"FINALLY!"

Ash and Brock burst out of the forest they had been trapped in. They had been able to find their way out of the dark forest with the help of the Pokémon that lived there. Ash ran into the clearing where he had had a battle with Paul the previous afternoon, dropped to his knees, and started kissing the ground. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder. "Pika…" Pikachu said, sweatdropping.

Brock just shook his head at the scene. "Come on, Ash. We need to get to Hearthome."

Ash looked up at him. "But Brock, I'm tired…"

Brock sighed. "Fine, we'll start off to Hearthome tomorrow."

"Yay!" Ash said gleefully.

While Ash continued to kiss the ground, Brock searched for their bags, which they had left before chasing the Aipom into the forest for Chimchar's pokeball.

_Oh, right, I should probably get Chimchar in its pokeball…_

Brock looked around for the flame-tailed monkey. "Hey, Chimchar? Where did you go? Come on out, and we'll take you to Paul."

There was no sign of the Sinnoh starter. Brock sighed. "Hey, Ash, do you see Chimchar anywhere?"

Ash stopped kissing the ground and surveyed the area. "No…wait, I see a flame!"

He got up and walked over to a tree, where he could see a small flame burning next to it. "Hey! Chimchar!" Ash called out as he looked behind the tree.

"…oh no…"

It took Paul about half an hour just to get enough wood for a fire, putting him in a very irritable mood. It usually took him half that long to get the same amount of wood. Then again, that was only when he was with his Pokémon.

With an irritated expression on his face, Paul walked out of the forest. "Look, I know I said to meet me in fifteen minutes, but-" He stopped short. Dawn was nowhere to be seen. He sighed. "Leave it to the girl to be late," he said before setting up his firewood and starting a fire with two flat rocks he found while in the forest. "She better be here soon."

He rested next to the fire for about ten minutes, but still, Dawn had not showed up. Paul started getting irritated. "Where did that girl go?" He got up and took a few steps into the forest. "Hey," he said in a voice slightly louder than his talking voice. You know, being Paul, he wasn't going raise his voice in just _any _situation. "Hey, Troublesome. Come on." No answer. He sighed, irritated. "Troublesome. Let's go." No answer.

Now, Paul was starting to get worried. Not super worried. Just a little worried, enough for him to feel it in the pit of his stomach. This, of course, got him even more irritated. Paul didn't have time for petty emotions. It was a sign of weakness. Paul was _never_ weak. And he wasn't going to start being weak now.

Paul walked further into the forest. He figured the only way he would stop feeling like an emotional, weak worrier was to eliminate the thing that started the whole problem: the girl's disappearance. If only he could find this troublesome little girl, all his problems would disappear. Or, so he hoped.

"Troublesome, come on." Paul was unconsciously starting to get a little more worried. The worry he felt was like a hole, eating his insides up with anxiety. The more time he spent looking for Dawn, the more worry he felt, and the louder his voice became.

"Troublesome! Get out here _now_!" Paul was nearly in hysterics, or, at least, he was as hysterical as one can get while still being Paul. He walked farther into the dark forest, not paying attention to where he was going, and instead focusing on only one thing: finding Dawn.

Paul was pushed to his limit. "Dawn!" he yelled, calling her by name for once. "Dawn! Where _are _you?"

Suddenly, he heard a noise. He stopped in his tracks and listened. There it was: a faint, muffled noise, coming from his left. He turned and headed in that direction, a little less worried than before. _Could it be her?_ He walked through some prickly bushes and into a clearing.

The clearing pretty well lit up for being in the middle of a forest in the dead of night. Paul could see why: there were few trees in this clearing, and, therefore, nothing blocking the moonlight from pouring in. He could hear the noise at its loudest in this clearing. _It must be coming from here._ He scanned the clearing with his eyes, and suddenly, he saw her.

Dawn was lying in the middle of the clearing, kneeling with her hands covering her face. Paul almost ran the whole way up to her, he was so excited (well, not super-happy-excited, just excited he had nothing more to worry about and could no longer be classified as an emotional weakling).

When he got to Dawn, he assumed a cool, indifferent attitude, as if he had not just been panicking and running around a dark forest looking for her, but instead had been taking a nice moonlit stroll and happened to come across her. "Troublesome, let's go" was all he said in greeting. His worry was replaced with irritation now that he saw that all that anxiety had been for nothing. She was perfectly fine; there had been no need freak out (or, I guess, "Paul freak out". In my opinion, freaking out is screaming and crying and breaking things in anger and…well, you get the picture. So for now, we will call Paul's freak out "the Paul freak out", since it really isn't a "technical" freak out. Anyway, back to the story!).

Dawn did not respond to Paul's cold "greeting". Now that he was close up, he could see her shoulders shaking as she breathed, and her hands were wet. He saw that the noise was coming from her….and it was the sound of sobbing.

Paul was utterly astonished. Dawn, this happy little ball of sunshine and endless energy, was _sobbing?_ He half-expected the world to end right then and there. "Are you okay?" he asked somewhat-tenderly. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, not really knowing what else to do.

Finally, Dawn responded. She removed her hands from her face, revealing wet cheeks and red, puffy eyes. She placed her hands in her lap and looked down, not wanting to look at Paul. She did not say a word, but instead, raised her head and looked in front of her. Paul looked up, also.

"…oh…" Paul said quietly.

It was a tombstone, dark and menacing when compared to the moonlight. It had the markings:

_In memory of_

_Maxwell Hikari_

_Dear father and husband_

_May he rest in peace_

This brought on another fit of sobs from Dawn. She covered her face with her hands again. She did not want Paul to see her this way; he would deem her _pathetic_, just like Ash, Maylene, and any other trainers not good enough in his eyes.

Paul was totally blown away. He had no idea how to react. The whole night was so different: "the Paul freak out," finding Dawn crying, and now _this_. He looked down at the sobbing blunette, a few escaping tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry." He said it so softly, Dawn didn't think it was Paul who said it at all. But there was no one else around, so it had to have been Paul. She looked up questioningly, her hands returning to her lap, just in time to see Paul to kneel down beside her.

"Your…father?" Paul questioned without looking at Dawn. His eyes were transfixed on the words on the tombstone.

She nodded slowly, bringing yet another fit of sobs. Her hands flew up to her face, and her shoulders shook more violently than before. Suddenly, she felt something on her shoulder, and that something pulling her towards Paul. Somehow she knew it was Paul, gently pulling her in for a hug. She rested her head on his chest and erupted into another fit of sobs.  
>They sat like this, Dawn resting on his chest and sobbing, and Paul with one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other stroking her long midnight blue hair, for about fifteen minutes. Dawn was glad that Paul was there, but she was too wrapped up in her own grief to acknowledge her happiness.<p>

But all good things must end. Dawn eventually stopped crying. She dried her eyes and slowly stood up. Paul solemnly rose with her. Suddenly, Dawn stumbled. Paul caught her before she fell. "You can't walk," Paul stated.

"Y-yes I c-can…," Dawn stuttered. She sighed, not wanting to sound so pathetic in front of Paul. She would one day prove to him that she wasn't so worthless, that she wasn't just a silly girl. One day, he would no longer think of her as an emotional always-in-pink-and-talkative little girl. But that was going to take some time, since his opinion was changed from annoying girl to pathetic girl who apparently likes to cry. She shook his arms off of her and looked up at Paul, determined. "I can walk."

With a clearer head, she was able to take a few steps without stumbling. She looked back to see what Paul thought, only to find that he had already started walking forward and was now several yards ahead. "H-hey! Wait!" Dawn cried, not able to walk as fast.

Paul looked back at her, a slightly (very, VERY slight) sad look on his face. He stopped walking, and, for the first time in his life, waited patiently for someone who, slowly but surely, came back to him.

Ooh, do I sense some foreshadowing? Maybe, maybe not…

Anyway, I thought this chapter was pretty good. Too bad Paul had to be OOC. Oh well.

There are lots of questions that still need to be answered. For example, how will Paul and Dawn get out of the forest, since they're lost? What was the flame that Ash and Brock found? How did Dawn's dad die? Will Paul and Dawn's relationship change because of this event? Or will Paul continue treating Dawn like the annoying (in his opinion) girl she is? Will Dawn ever be able to prove herself to Paul? Why does it matter so much that she prove herself to Paul? How the heck did I just think up all these questions?

Oh, and make sure to leave a comment! All homeless comments are taken in; they will never be neglected, ignored, or mistreated. We will make sure your comment will have the best life possible.

Thanks, guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Yet another chapter! Isn't this fun?

Just so you know, I've been updating almost every day now. The only reason is because have maybe five chapters written all together, but I don't want to post them all in one day. Just so you know.

This is where everything gets exciting…!

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Pokémon or its characters.

Paul and Dawn walked through the forest in silence. Neither of them were paying attention to where they were going since they were too absorbed in their own thoughts.

Paul was mentally slamming his head against a wall.

_Why why why why? You emotional idiot, what have you done?_

Dawn was mentally slapping herself.

_Oh my God! You weak idiot, what will Paul think of you now?_

Both Paul and Dawn were worried about what the other thought of them. Paul was too worried about coming out as too weak. _Of all the things you could have done, you HUGGED her? What were you thinking? You are NOT an emotional person, but now that GIRL thinks you are!_

Dawn was worrying about the same exact thing. _You had it all planned out: just a walk to check on that grave, and then you'd go back. But NO, you had to start bawling like a weak, pathetic little girl! Nice going, now I bet he thinks I'm an emotional crybaby, too._

Neither realized they were completely lost.

Ash ran, the hurt Pokémon in his arms and unconscious.

"Hey, Ash! Wait up!"

"Pika pi!"

Ash ignored the yells behind him. All he knew was that he had to save this Pokémon. He didn't know where he was going or what to do; all he knew was that he had to run, run, run as fast as he could. Perhaps he was heading for Hearthome, which was still a few days' walk away. But he didn't care. He looked down at the unconscious Pokémon.

The Sinnoh starter had scratches covering its body. Its flame, usually burning brightly, was almost completely out. _That's not good. _Ash had never seen a Pokémon this badly hurt before. He didn't know what to do…

Suddenly, he ran into something in the middle of the road. It caught him completely off guard; he had been too involved in his thoughts. He fell back, hard, clutching the Pokémon tighter so that it wouldn't fly out of his arms.

Ash heard a noise that sounding like another person falling backwards. He looked up to see what it was.

Even though it was dark, he could see the person easily: she was short, a few inches shorter than Dawn. Her hair was straight and was so long it reached her waist. It was chocolate brown with caramel highlights, making Ash think of a chocolate ice cream sundae.

Ash was able to quickly get up, but the girl was still on the ground. Using one hand to hold the Pokémon, he offered the other to the girl.

After overcoming the shock of suddenly running into someone on a seemingly empty road, the girl opened her eyes. A hand entered her field of vision. Her eyes traveled up to reveal not only a hand, but also an arm, and a body, and a head, and eventually a person, holding a Pokémon. Her emerald green eyes gazed into the face of a raven-haired boy.

She immediately felt embarrassed. Of course, being the clumsy girl she was, she would run into a person. And of course she would fall and make herself look stupid. She half-expected the hand to disappear and the boy to run, not wanting to deal with the embarrassed girl.

But the hand remained. The girl eventually lifted one delicate hand and gently placed it in the stranger's hand. He gripped it and pulled her up. The girl got to her feet and started brushing herself off. Again, she expected the boy to just run.

But he stayed. Embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "I'm sorry," she began, blushing. "I-I didn't...didn't know anyone else would be walking this late…" She trailed off.

Ash just smiled. "It's alright," he said. "I'm Ash, by the way."

"Chandler," the girl said, smiling back but still embarrassed. "But you can call me Chaney."

"Chaney," Ash repeated. "Alright."

"Um, do you need help…?" Chandler looked down at the injured Pokémon. Ash looked down, too, and his smile faded. He seemed to have forgotten all about his previous problem.

"Pika!"

"Ash!"

Brock and Pikachu finally caught up to them. "Ash, why did you run? We need to…to…" Brock trailed off, looking at Chandler. Kind of weirded out, she gave him a small smile and wave.

"Oh, sorry Brock," Ash said, noticing the awkward situation. "This is Chandler."

"Just call me Ch-" Chandler began before Brock suddenly grabbed her hand and knelt to the ground.

"In all my years of traveling, never once have my eyes beheld such beauty, such magnificence," Brock said, imagining himself dressed in the outfit of a prince and Chandler as a princess. "I wish that my eyes could forever gaze upon this face of an angel…"

Suddenly, his reverie was broken with a poison jab from Croagunk. "Of…course… I could always just… get a picture…" Brock struggled to get the words out, being paralyzed with the poison. This comment earned Brock yet another poison jab. Brock fell onto his side. Croagunk, now satisfied, sat contently next to its trainer. Ash sweat dropped. Chandler, new to Brock's behavior, was blushing deeply.

"Uh…um…may I ask…" Chandler started, embarrassed. "What the heck was that?"

"Oh, sorry," Ash said. "He always does that when he sees pretty girls. By the way, that's Brock."

Both looked down at the still-paralyzed man lying on his side.

"'Pretty'? Sure," Chandler murmured, not believing it.

Suddenly, Brock stood up. He looked at both Chandler and Ash, silent. Then he just returned Croagunk.

"Sorry…" he said, defeated.

"…Anyway," Chandler began, looking back at the Pokémon in Ash's arms, "I assume you need help."

"Yeah…" Ash said, sadly. "I don't really know what to do…"

"I know," said Chandler.

Ash looked up, surprised. "You do?"

"Sure," she said. "I have some cheri berries at home that will help. And a few oran berries should heal it faster."

"Where's home?"

"Just down this path," she gestured behind her. "It's not very far away. Come on."

Ash and Brock followed Chandler, Pikachu catching a ride on Brock's shoulder. After a few minutes, they saw a small white house resting along the path. Its lights were off, except for a lantern hanging above the small wooden porch.

"This is it," Chandler said when they reached her home. She stood on the porch, and suddenly, the door opened. She walked in as if this was normal. Ash and Brock, however, were shocked. Chandler poked her head out and looked at the boys. "Don't you want to come in? I'll get a fire started in the fireplace." The boys shook off their shock and slowly walked in, afraid something else strange would occur.

By the time they walked in, Chandler had started the fire. Next to the fire place were an over-stuffed couch and one unmatching armchair. Near that was a small kitchen with only one stove, a refrigerator, a sink, and a table. On the other side of the room was a door that Ash assumed led to the bedroom.

Chandler was in the small kitchen, looking through the cupboards installed in the walls. "Why don't you sit down?" she suggested as she continued looking, knocking down pots and pans.

The boys sat down on the couch, grateful for the warm fire after having spent almost two days in the forest.

They heard the cupboards close and the pots and pans stop falling. Chandler walked to them, a basket in hand. "I have an orchard in the backyard," she explained. "We're going to go pick the berries your friend there needs." She inclined her head toward the Chimchar in Ash's arms.

"We?" Brock asked.

Chandler stopped and blushed again. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, sorry." She laughed nervously. "I forgot you didn't know." She turned toward the armchair. "This is my Pokémon."

From the armchair arose a thin, graceful figure, about the size of a human. It looked as if it was wearing a long, white ball gown.

"It's a Gardevoir," Ash said, amazed. He had seen few Gardevoir in his journey.

"Yep," Chandler said, still slightly embarrassed. "By the way, if you were wondering, she was the one who opened the door for us."

"Of course," said Brock. "Using psychic, right?"

She nodded. "I found her when she was just a Ralts. She's the only Pokémon I've ever had or needed."

Gardevoir turned toward Chandler and smiled a bright smile. Chandler smiled back. Gardevoir then took the basket from her trainer and gracefully walked, no, almost floated, to the door, which opened quickly. She went outside and the door shut behind her.

Brock and Ash were both very impressed. "How did she just…know?" Brock asked.

"What?" Chandler asked.

"I mean, you didn't tell Gardevoir to get berries, yet she just left to get some. How?"

"Oh, that." Again, Chandler was embarrassed and blushing. "Well…it's kind of hard to explain…but…" She paused, as if listening to something. Her face lit up. "That's it. Gardevoir and I share a bond no other human and Pokémon possess, and therefore we are able to communicate without words."

"Interesting," Brock said, furrowing his brow. "So, is it like telepathy?"

"Sort of…" Chandler tried to explain. "We can communicate our thoughts without speaking out loud, but we don't use words. We sort of… feel what we're thinking. I can't really explain it."

"When did this start?"

Again, she stopped, as if listening to something. Finally, after what seemed like a long pause, she spoke. "Well, it didn't happen right away…" Chandler began, thinking back to the day when she and her Pokémon could communicate wordlessly.

"_Come on Kirlia!" Chandler yelled while running through the forest, smiling back at her Kirlia. The Kirlia gracefully bounded after her trainer, broadly smiling, too._

_It was a bright day, perfect for training, or maybe just goofing off. See, even though Chandler was collecting gym badges, she didn't train regularly and didn't catch any more Pokémon. Instead, she learned that she was more interested in medicine and berries than battling. But if her mother knew…_

_Suddenly, Chandler tripped and fell on her face. Kirlia, surprised, quickly ran to her trainer. But Chandler was fine; she was just a little clumsy. She smiled, embarrassed, at Kirlia. Kirlia smiled back, relieved that her trainer was okay. _

"_Want to keep going?" Chandler asked as she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Suddenly, it was dark. Chandler didn't know if the sun had gone down without her noticing, or maybe she was too deep in the forest. Either way, she suddenly became aware of the darkness around her. She turned her head toward Kirlia…but she was gone. _

"_Kirlia?" Chandler called out, standing up. But when she stood up, her legs felt so cold and numb that she couldn't walk. In fact, in the cold and dark, Chandler couldn't move at all._

_That was when Chandler began to panic. "Kirlia!" she called out frantically, darting her head this way and that, trying to find where her Kirlia had gone. "Kirlia! Where did you go?"_

_Tears began to stream down her face. She was absolutely panicked and cold and numb and alone. If only her Kirlia was there…_

_Chandler heard a rustle in the bushes. She looked up. "Kirlia?" she questioned._

_Suddenly, a large dark shape revealed itself from behind the bushes. A cold wind blew from it and hit Chandler at full force. Chandler, now at her last nerve, screamed, "_KIRLIA_!"_

_But she didn't scream it out loud. She was too cold and frightened to talk. Instead, she screamed it in her mind, begging for her Pokémon to return. But there was no use, really. Kirlia couldn't hear her thoughts…_

_Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head. _"Calm, master. I'm here."_ She looked up and saw Kirlia standing next to her, her arms outstretched protectively. Kirlia faced the dark figure and narrowed her eyes. The wind soon began to die down. The dark figure turned and was suddenly gone. _

_Kirlia then bent down to inspect her trainer. "_Are you alright?" _Again, Chandler heard the voice in her head. But she didn't think much of it. In fact, after all the traumatic experiences she had just gone through, she could witness the whole world exploding and not care. _

"Is that you talking to me, Kirlia?" _Kirlia nodded._

"Let's get you home," _Kirlia said in Chandler's head placing on hand on her trainer's arm and teleporting them both home._

"Sounds like a traumatic experience," Brock noted, nodding his head, suddenly acting more like a wise adult than a hopeless romantic.

"Yeah," said Chandler, looking down at the floor for a moment, as if composing herself. She then looked up with a small smile. "But I'm glad it happened. Gardevoir and I wouldn't have become so close if it hadn't happened."

"I wonder what that black figure was," Ash wondered out loud. "A Pokémon, maybe?"

"I don't know," Chandler said. "I've lived in Sinnoh my whole life, and I've never seen anything like that since my first encounter."

The three (and Pikachu) were silent for a moment. The silence was broken by Chandler, surprisingly. "So, why is your Pokémon hurt so badly?"

Ash was silent, staring down at the Chimchar in his lap. "I-I'm sorry for prying…," Chandler began.

"It's alright," Ash said. "I can tell you."

Ash told Chandler all about what had happened since the day before, starting with his battle with Paul ("Wow, that guy sure sounds like a jerk," Chandler had noted), losing Paul and Dawn over the cliff ("I hope they're alright"), getting lost in the forest (…*no comment, that was kind of pathetic*…), getting themselves out of the forest ("that's good to hear"), and finally finding Chimchar.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and in Gardevoir gracefully walked, carrying a basket full of berries. Now that they knew how the door opened and closed, Ash and Brock could see the faint blue glow that surrounded the door as it shut.

Gardevoir walked up to Chandler and handed her the basket, smiling. Chandler smiled back. Ash guessed that Chandler told Gardevoir her thanks nonverbally.

Chandler walked to Ash and kneeled in front of him, placing the basket beside her. She picked one cheri berry from the basket. "For Chimchar," Chandler explained, holding the berry above the Pokémon in Ash's lap. She squeezed the berry in her hand and the juice fell into Chimchar's mouth. She repeated this action with three other berries. "There, the major injuries should start healing." She picked up a few oran berries. "These will make him heal faster." She started crushing the berries and their juice fell into Chimchar's mouth. Then she was done. She picked up the basket with the leftover berries, gave one oran berry to Gardevoir, and started nibbling a cheri berry herself. Gardevoir sat back down in her chair and Chandler sat between Ash and Brock.

"When will Chimchar wake up?" Ash asked worriedly.

"Soon, I think-" Chandler was interrupted by Ash's gasp.

One of Chimchar's eyes was opened, its brown eye searching the face of the trainer holding it. Suddenly, both eyes sprang open, and it propelled itself off of Ash's lap, landing in a fighting stance.

"No, no! Chimchar, it's me!" Ash tried to calm it down. But apparently, that was the problem: the fact that Chimchar was with Ash and not Paul. Outraged, Chimchar began filling up its lungs for a massive flamethrower aimed at Ash.

Suddenly, Chimchar's eyes shut and it collapsed on the floor.

Ash and Brock looked around, confused, and saw Gardevoir standing up, looking down at the Sinnoh starter. They both looked to Chandler.

"Hypnosis," she explained. Ash and Brock nodded their heads.

Ash walked over to Chimchar and started to pick it up.

"Wait," Chandler said. "We don't want a repeat of what just happened. Maybe someone else should hold him?"

"How about you?" Brock suggested, sitting back down on the couch in his original position. "Part of the problem was that Chimchar recognized Ash. Chimchar won't recognize you."

"That might work," Ash said, picking up Chimchar and handing it to Chandler.

Chandler was reluctant to take Chimchar. "Are…are you sure you won't mind…?"

"Why would I? I don't want him to burn the house down. Besides, he's not even my Pokémon."

"Then are you sure the trainer won't mind?"

Ash paused for a second. "I'm sure he would, but he's not here, so there's nothing he can do to stop you."

Chandler was momentarily surprised at Ash's response. She could hear the hatred for this unnamed trainer in his voice. Gardevoir could too; she could feel her surprise.

As Chandler took Chimchar gently and sat down on the couch (unknowingly sitting next to Brock), she asked, "Why do you hate Chimchar's trainer so much?"

"Well…," Ash began, collecting his thoughts.

While he was thinking, Chandler and Gardevoir had their own conversation.

"_You do realize you're sitting next to _him,_ don't you?" _Gardevoir asked, smirking_._

Chandler blushed, but stopped blushing as she turned her head to the breeder beside her, who seemed to be staring intensely at her face. "Oh my God, what are you doing?" Chandler asked loudly, very freaked out, as this had never happened to her before.

"What are you talking about?" Brock asked, starting to move closer to Chandler.

Suddenly, in a very out-of-character act of pure terror, she yanked one hand from beneath the Chimchar in her lap and slapped Brock across the face.

Ash jerked his head up, surprised at the sudden sound. Brock, also surprised, put one hand up to his cheek. Chandler had stood up, still holding Chimchar, and was now glaring at Brock.

As everyone was frozen with surprise and shock, what sounded like tinkling music came from the other sound of the room.

It was actually laughter, coming from Gardevoir. In fact, Gardevoir was laughing so hard, she had ungracefully fallen out of her chair.

Chandler blushed as she saw her Gardevoir's reaction. "Gardevoir…"

"What was _that?"_ Brock yelled, standing up to face Chandler.

"What should have been done! I mean, what were you doing?" she countered.

"I was taking a closer look at Chimchar!"

"Well, why didn't you tell me that?"

"I didn't feel a need to!"

"Didn't you realize I might have taken it the wrong way? Especially after the way you acted before we came here?"

"No! I didn't!"

Gardevoir's laughing grew and soon she was rolling on the floor.

"Guys, guys, calm down," Ash said.

Both Brock and Chandler were breathing heavily, glaring at each other. They hadn't noticed how close they had gotten during their fight. Chandler lightly blushed and looked away.

"_Oh, sure, you _don't _like him," _Gardevoir said to Chandler, still laughing her head off.

"_Shut up," _Chandler said, blushing. Realizing what she was doing, she shook off her blush and sat down on the farthest end of the couch, looking irritated. Brock also sat down, crossing his arms.

Everyone was quiet but Gardevoir, who was just wrapping up her laughing spell. Finally, after she was done laughing, she sat back down on her chair with a goofy smile on her face. There was a long silence, broken only by Ash's comment: "Wow, this is awkward", provoking yet another laugh attack from Gardevoir, briefer this time. But the musical laughter was so contagious that Ash was also laughing hysterically, and even Brock and Chandler were grinning.

It took a while for Ash and Gardevoir to calm down. When everything went quiet again, Brock sighed and turned to Chandler.

"Look, I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have acted that way to begin with, and I should have realized-"

"No, no, I'm sorry for overreacting," Chandler interrupted. Embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck. "I…I shouldn't have, and I feel bad for slapping you…how's your cheek?"

Brock turned his face so that the slapped cheek faced Chandler. It was still bright red.

"I bet some berries could make the red go away faster," she suggested, trying not to look at Brock directly in his eyes.

Brock smiled. "I'm fine, thanks. I've gotten worse."

"Besides, he's been rejected too many times by other girls to even care," Ash said, laughing, still in a good mood.

Chandler furrowed her brows. "Other girls…?"

Brock broke in, also chuckling. "Yeah. When it comes to heartbreak, I'm your man."

Both boys continued chuckling, but Chandler, along with Gardevoir, stayed silent.

"Anyway, enough talk about my dead love life," Brock said, his chuckling slowing to a stop. He turned to Chandler. "Do you know when Chimchar will wake up?"

Chandler stared blankly at the wall, as if in some kind of reverie. "Um, hello?" Brock waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn't respond. "Chandler?" Brock asked, beginning to become worried.

"What's wrong, Chaney?" Ash asked, also becoming worried.

They both looked at Gardevoir, hoping Chandler was just in some deep conversation with her Pokémon.

Gardevoir looked terrified.

As Paul and Dawn continued walking through the forest, both were silent, deep in their own thoughts. The silence was so awkward, Dawn could almost feel the awkwardness radiating off of her. And Paul, too, for that matter, but Dawn didn't notice.

Suddenly, as if breaking glass, Paul broke the awkward silence. "Do you smell smoke?"

Both began to smell the air. They could smell it, and far away, they could see a bright light: fire.

Dawn immediately began to freak out. Fire was one of her biggest fears, along with heights and spiders. "How did we not notice that?" Dawn started hyperventilating, which Paul noticed Dawn did whenever she was frightened.

Paul grabbed Dawn's shoulders. "Look, troublesome, you have to calm down. This isn't going to help."

Dawn's rapid breathing became a bit slower, but her heart still beat fast. "Will we be able to make it out in time? I mean…" _I still feel kind of faint from what happened by my dad's grave. You remember. _Dawn couldn't put her thought into words; she just hoped Paul knew what she meant.

Paul, not being dumb at all, figured it out. He quickly scooped Dawn in his arms and started running.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Dawn momentarily forgot her terror and blushed. She definitely did not want to be put in another awkward situation, and Paul holding her most likely would put her in that situation.

"Saving your life," Paul said.

Paul continued running through the dark forest, the only light coming from the fire behind him. _If I can just get out of this forest… _But Paul didn't know which way was out, and he didn't have much time. As each second passed, he could feel the warmth of the flames behind him more and more. And as each second passed, Paul grew more tired and slow. He could generally run farther without growing tired, but he had never run so far while carrying a girl. Dawn's weight started to slow him down, and suddenly, she felt like a thousand pounds in his arms. Paul's breathing grew shallow and uneven, and his vision started growing hazy.

"Paul?" asked Dawn, hearing his breathing. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," he said between short breaths. "I can make us out of here… I…I can…" He trailed off, deciding not to speak anymore and conserving more oxygen. But his thoughts, like his vision, were also becoming hazy.

Suddenly, Paul collapsed. He fell onto his knees, dropping Dawn, and fell on his side, rolling onto his back. He closed his eyes. _I just need…rest...that's all… _He became unconscious.

Dawn, after being dropped by Paul, immediately picked herself up, though she was weak. She rushed over to Paul's side and kneeled.

"P-Paul?" Dawn asked, shaking him a little. "Paul, wake up. You're scaring me."  
>But Paul didn't open his eyes. "Paul!" Dawn became hysterical. She was stuck in a forest that was on fire, she was weak and probably wouldn't be able to get herself out, and the only one that could have possibly gotten her out was now unconscious. "Paul! Stop this!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. Paul wasn't waking up anytime soon. Dawn started yelling, "Anybody! Help! Please!" But no one would answer. Dawn knew this. She quit yelling and just kneeled there beside Paul, sobbing.<p>

_There was so much I wanted to do… _Dawn thought, convinced she was going to die. _I'll never be able to win the Grand Festival. I'll never watch Ash become Champion. I'll never see Piplup or Buneary or any of my Pokémon again… I'll never see Ash, or Brock, or even Mom… And I'll never have my first kiss._

Dawn looked at Paul. For once, he looked peaceful; he wasn't irritated, or annoyed, or criticizing anyone. He didn't seem harsh or mean in any way. _He doesn't even look like Paul… At least I get to see Paul like this for the last time…_

Dawn ran her hand through his hair, feeling its silky smoothness. She grabbed his hand, which was cool, even though they were in the middle of a burning forest. _Speaking of burning forest…_ Dawn looked around. The fire had almost completely surrounded her. It was about fifty feet away, but it was coming closer. She quickly turned to Paul. _I don't want to see the fire coming closer…_ She put his hand up to her cheek and closed her eyes. If Dawn wasn't in this situation, she would have been embarrassed and would have immediately let go of his hand. But since Paul was unconscious and Dawn was going to die anyway, she didn't care.

"Paul, I'm sorry," Dawn said, crying harder. "I'm so sorry…" She closed her eyes.  
>Suddenly, through her eyelids, she could see the faint glow of a light. <em>Is the fire here already?<em>

But the color wasn't right. Her eyes snapped open.

Paul was glowing, like an angel. A shining white light enveloped him. _Am I dead? _Dawn wondered. A dark shape entered her field of vision. She looked at it and saw that it was a Pokémon. It was tan-colored and walked on four legs. Its tail and ears resembled long leaves, which were currently glowing, and smaller leaves grew from its forehead, chest, and legs. It had large brown eyes that looked right into Dawn's blue ones.

_A Leafeon? _Dawn was confused. _Are there Leafeon in heaven?_

But the light disappeared, and Paul was no longer glowing. He looked almost the same, and he was still unconscious, but his breathing was deeper. He seemed healed.

Dawn turned to the Leafeon and watched as it began running in circles and tilting its head up to the sky. Dawn looked up, too, and one single raindrop fell on her nose. Dawn wiped the drop off her nose, but another one soon fell on her arm, another on her head, and another on her leg. It was raining. Leafeon continued running in circles and tilting its head up to the sky, and the rain became harder and harder. The fire started simmering as the rain hit it, and more and more steam appeared. Soon, there was more steam than smoke in the air, and the fire died out.

Dawn was at her breaking point. She had been under so much emotional stress, from seeing her father's grave to nearly dying, that she fainted.

Finished! I think that was the best chapter yet! And it was the longest, too! Nine pages on Word! Awesome.

What do you think will happen to Paul and Dawn now? Why did that Leafeon help them? What is wrong with Chandler? This will all be revealed in the next chapter of Hearthome Destiny!


	5. Chapter 5

Welcome to Chapter 5 of _Hearthome Destiny!_ Please, keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle until the chapter is over. Thank you for choosing _Hearthome Destiny_! May you have a safe read!

Disclaimer: Do you really think I own Pokémon or its characters? Well, I don't, so stop thinking that.

"W-what's wrong with Chaney?" Ash asked worriedly.

"Why is she-" Brock was cut off by a sharp intake of breath coming from Chandler. Everyone immediately turned their heads to her.

Her emerald eyes were wide open and unblinking. She was staring at nothing in particular. And she was completely still.

"Chaney? Chaney!" Ash called out, waving his hand in front of Chandler again, hoping to elicit a response. There was none.

"Chandler?" Brock tried to help, too, but nothing would work.

Suddenly, there was another intake of breath. Something knocked over Brock to the ground. He heard what sounded like a small explosion and he felt heat rushing over his back. However, being face-down, he could not see what happened.

When the heat began to die down, the thing that had pinned Brock to the ground got up quickly. It was Gardevoir, protecting Brock from that explosion. Brock turned to Gardevoir. "Was that…Chandler…that did that?"

Gardevoir nodded. Brock looked at the girl, who was still staring unblinkingly. Next to where Chandler was sitting was Pikachu, still ducking and hiding from the heat that had burned above his head.

"Wait…what about…Ash!" Brock turned around to find Ash.

Ash was standing up, perfectly unscathed. His eyes were wide with fear, and he was holding Chimchar in his arms.

_Oh. _Brock understood. Ash had jumped to save Chimchar and had no time to duck. But why was he not injured…?

Brock turned to Gardevoir, who had move to Chandler's side. Chandler was now blinking, tears streaming down her cheeks. But she was still transfixed by the wall.

"It's…hot, too hot…It's fire, and the fire is burning everything everywhere…the trees are dying and the Pokémon are running away, faster and faster…The fire is surrounding…a girl, and a boy…oh my God, they're not running. The boy is…unconscious, and the girl is holding his hand…she's crying, and she knows she's going to die, but she's not moving…Why isn't she moving? She's going to die…Where is her protector? Where did her protector go? The Pokémon are asking…She's supposed to have a protector…but it's gone…where did it go? Wait…there's a Pokémon. I think it's helping... Now it's raining. The fire is going out…but the boy is still unconscious…what's wrong with him?"

Brock, a little more concerned with Ash, took Chimchar and asked, "What happened?"

Ash just shook his head. "I don't know."

"The boy is glowing," Chandler continued. "And so is the Pokémon...Is the boy okay? He's still unconscious…but I think he's sleeping now… The girl is very tired, and her protector is still gone. Where did it go? Where did it go?" Chandler started crying even harder. "She needs her protector…Where did it go? The girl is sleeping now. Her protector is back. It's taking the boy and the girl out of the forest…And the other Pokémon is following. They're at a campsite, and the protector disappeared…but the other Pokémon is still there…I hope they're alright…"

Chandler turned to Gardevoir, now out of her trance. She cocked her head, as if to ask "what just happened?" But before Gardevoir could answer, Chandler started sobbing, and she clung to Gardevoir.

Suddenly, the cabin was silent, except for the sobbing of Chandler. Gardevoir, with a concerned expression, hugged her trainer. The boys, totally confused, just looked on.

After Chandler had calmed down a bit, she stopped clinging to Gardevoir and started talking.

"I-I'm sorry, guys…that usually doesn't happen."

"WHAT was THAT?" Ash yelled. Brock covered his mouth, not wanting to further upset Chandler.

She didn't mind. "Um, well, I was…seeing."

"Seeing what?" Ash said through Brock's hand.

"Seeing an event that happened in the present, something that was so traumatic or important that I can see it."

"So you can see things that don't happen around you?" Brock asked for clarification. Chandler nodded.

"And you can explode?" Ash asked.

Chandler hesitated. "Well, not really…it's..." She paused, listening to Gardevoir. "It's the trauma of the moment flowing through me as heat, causing my seeing to be clearer."

"Can it…hurt people?" Brock asked.

Chandler was silent for a time, looking down at the ground. Brock seemed alarmed and almost threw himself to the floor before Gardevoir stopped him with a quick shake of her head. Brock relaxed back in his seat.

Chandler finally spoke. "I-it can…" Suddenly, she looked up to Brock and Ash, looking scared. "It didn't hurt either one of you, did it? Oh my God-"  
>"Don't worry!" Brock cut her off. "Your Gardevoir saved me. But Ash…"<p>

All heads turned to Ash. Ash seemed uncomfortable under all the pairs of eyes. "I didn't get hurt," Ash said, wanting to break the awkward silence. "I grabbed Chimchar and didn't have any time to duck, but I wasn't hurt. Are you sure it can hurt people?"

"Of course it can!" Chandler suddenly lashed out. Ash flinched. Chandler's expression softened. "I'm sorry…," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "But, if you didn't duck, then how are you…okay?"

Ash shook his head. "I don't know. I remember grabbing Chimchar, and then there was your explosion-"

"Not an explosion," Chandler broke in.

"-Your explosion," Ash said, ignoring Chandler's comment. "And all this heat was rushing toward me. I didn't have any time to duck, so I braced myself, but I didn't feel anything. I looked around and saw the heat almost moving around me, avoiding me. It was strange, and the strangest thing was that it was glowing blue. I'm not sure how that happened. At first, I thought it was Gardevoir, but something inside me told me it was someone else…I'm not sure who though…"

"Hm, blue," Brock said. "Sounds like Psychic. But if it wasn't Gardevoir using Psychic, who was it?"

All three trainers and all the non-asleep Pokémon were stumped by this. "Well," Chandler said, "Gardevoir suggests we try decoding what my seeing was."

The other trainers nodded in agreement, so they set off to work. "Gardevoir remembers what I said," Chandler said. "I don't really remember anything I see in a seeing, so…"

"You don't?" Brock asked. Chandler shook her head. "Odd."

"Okay, so apparently, I was talking about a fire. And trees were dying…"

"A forest fire?" suggested Ash.

"Probably," Chandler agreed. "Then there was a boy and a girl, and they were surrounded by the fire. The boy was unconscious and the girl wasn't running…" Chandler paused. "And then there was something about a protector. Apparently the girl was supposed to have a protector, but it was gone…"

"A protector?" Brock asked. "I wonder who…?"

"Then a Pokémon appeared, and it started raining."

"Rain dance?" Ash suggested.

"Maybe," Chandler said. "Anyway, the fire went out, and then the Pokémon and the boy started glowing…I said after that that 'The boy was sleeping' instead of 'The boy is unconscious', so maybe he was healed?"

"The Pokémon might have used a healing move," Brock said.

Chandler nodded. "Then I started talking more about the girl's protector…then the protector came back and the girl fell asleep. The protector brought the boy and the girl to a campsite, and the Pokémon went with them. Then the protector went away…"  
>"Are these seeings actual events? Or are they just dreams?" Ash asked, confused.<p>

"They're real," Chandler said. "Which means a forest really did get burned, and two people almost did get killed."

"But the whole protector thing…," Brock brought up, not seeming to believe it. "It didn't seem real. I mean, who or what was the protector? Why did the girl need a protector?"

Chandler just shook her head. "I can only see and hear things. I can't see into people or Pokémons' minds, or be given more information about the event. Or, if I do, I don't actually remember seeing anything, so it's not helpful anyway."

"Right," Brock said. "Okay."

"Should we do something?" Ash asked.

"I don't think so," Chandler said. "This event could have happened in a whole different region. There's no way we could know exactly which forest this happened."

"But didn't you see Pokémon?" Brock asked. "We could tell from that."

"Again, I don't remember what I saw," Chandler said. "Did I say anything about what kinds of Pokémon were there?" Brock shook his head. "Then there's probably no way to tell."

"What about the boy and the girl?" Ash asked, desperately wanting to help and not feel so useless.

Chandler shook her head. "Nope, unless I said something about them."

Ash sighed, slightly angry. "But we have to do something…"

"Don't you remember?" Chandler asked, then blushed and said, "Well, I don't exactly remember, but I remember what Gardevoir told me I said. Apparently, the boy and the girl are okay. The boy was healed, and they were brought out of the forest. We don't have to do anything. We aren't needed."

Ash sighed again. "Alright. Well, at least we know they're okay. I just want to know who they are…"

When Paul's eyes opened, it was daylight. The light hurt his eyes and he covered them. He was lying down on some hard ground. _That's weird, _Paul thought. _I could have sworn this ground was soft and moist yesterday…_

_Yesterday…_

His eyes widened as he remembered the previous day's events: worrying about Dawn, finding her by her father's grave, trying to save her from the forest fire, and fainting…

_Am I dead? _Paul thought after remembering his failed attempt at saving Dawn and putting himself at risk in the process. But as his eyes became accustomed to the light, he looked around and saw that he was at the campsite at which he had waited for Dawn yesterday.

Miraculously, he saw Dawn, unharmed, sleeping about five feet away from him. Her body was facing Paul, and she was smiling a little, as if having a good dream. Paul almost smiled, too, until he remembered smiling was for babies.

Paul surveyed the rest of the campsite. "Ah!" he yelled when his eyes came across another figure in the campsite.

It was a Pokémon. Its large brown eyes were wide open and staring at Paul. Its tan body was lying on the ground, two of its brown paws underneath its tan head. Its leaf ears were resting on top of its head.

"A Leafeon?" Paul wondered out loud.

The Leafeon raised its head, smiled, and nodded.

"What are you doing here? Where's your trainer?"

Leafeon shook its head, indicating that it had no trainer. Paul's first thought was to catch it (I mean, how rare is a wild Leafeon?) but then he remembered he didn't have his bag, and therefore didn't have any Pokémon or Pokeballs. Paul sighed. "Well, I guess you can stay if you want. I'm sure Dawn won't mind." Paul gestured toward the blue-haired girl behind him, indicating that that was Dawn.

Leafeon nodded, understanding. It rested its head on its front paws again and went back to sleep.

Paul rubbed his temples. _Ugh, I feel groggy. Who knew carrying a girl through a forest was so taxing? _As he rubbed his temples, Paul's eyes fell upon something else in the campsite.

The fire pit in the middle of the campsite was now a burnt hole in the ground. The wood that had kept it going the night before was completely gone, now only ashes. What shocked Paul, though, were the burnt trees next to the fire pit.

_Oh my God, _Paul thought. I _started the fire last night._

It was Paul's fault the forest caught on fire last night. When he went to go look for Dawn, he didn't put out the fire. Some of the flames must have been blown toward the nearby forest, catching a tree on fire, and the fire must have spread.

_I'm the reason Dawn and I almost died last night. _The realization made his stomach grow cold. Because of his own carelessness, he had almost killed himself. Not to mention, all the Pokémon he might have killed or injured as well… How could he have been so stupid and careless?  
>He glanced toward Dawn and remembered. <em>It's because of her. <em>Because he had been so worried about her, he left the fire. Because he had been so weak and had succumbed to petty emotions, he almost killed himself.

There was only one solution to his problem: he had to leave Dawn.

There was no other way. If he hadn't have traveled with Dawn, he wouldn't have almost killed himself. In fact, it was because of his petty emotions that he fell off that cliff to begin with, resulting from picking a fight with her. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have had encountered so many problems. Why was he still traveling with her?

Paul was just about to get up and try to sneakily escape, but Dawn started stirring, and soon she was awake, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

_Great, _thought Paul. _I guess I'll just do it tonight…_

"Are you sure, Chandler?"

It was the morning after Chandler's seeing, and Brock, Ash, and Pikachu were just about to leave her house. Chimchar was still sleeping, and Pikachu was poised for any movement indicating it was awake and ready to thunderbolt it if it tried to attack Ash.

Right as they turned to leave, Chandler stopped them. "Could I come with you guys?"

That's when Ash asked his question. Chandler blushed, surprised at herself for even asking. "Well, yes and n-no…," Chandler sighed. "I really do want to come. I didn't get to complete my journey, and I only have one Pokémon. I also want to help you find your friends. If they're hurt, I can help." She paused. "Gardevoir can stay and watch our house. It'll be hard to leave her behind…but she's okay with it."

Gardevoir was standing in the doorway, solemnly watching Chandler. Chandler looked over.

"One second," she said to Ash and Brock. She headed over to Gardevoir. The two friends looked at each other sadly. "I'll miss you Gardevoir." Chandler said. "I really will…" A tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground, leaving a small wet circle. Gardevoir drew Chandler in with her arms and hugged her, comforting her trainer. Chandler smiled as they released from their hug. "Thanks, Gardevoir. Now, make sure you keep the orchard growing, like you always do." Gardevoir smiled and nodded.

Chandler turned to Ash and Brock. "I'm ready to go."

Brock nodded. Ash smiled and shouted, "Okay then! To Hearthome we go!"

"Chaney, can we please stop?"

"Nope."

"Just a second? Please?"

"Nope."

"I can barely breathe here!"

It had been a few hours into their journey and Ash and Brock were tired and wanting to take a rest. Chandler, however, in her enthusiasm, did not want to stop, and with constant energy she marched faster and longer than Ash and Brock could.

"Chandler, we're stopping now!"

Chandler sighed and turned around, her eyes beholding the other travelers lying down in the middle of the road, the still-sleeping Chimchar in Ash's arms. Chandler threw her arms in the air.

"We're tired," Ash said bluntly.

"Come on, Chandler, rest a little. You'll need it," Brock suggested.

Chandler glared at Brock a little bit, somewhat childishly, before giving in. "Fine, but only for five minutes."

"Thank goodness!" Ash said.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu said in agreement, jumping on Ash's back and curling up to take a nap.

Chandler sat down in between Ash and Brock cross-legged. She took her small backpack off of her back and retrieved a water bottle from it and took a sip. Suddenly, she heard a voice that came from directly over her shoulder.

"Hi."

Wide-eyed and surprised, Chandler spat out her water. Poor Ash happened to be lying in front of the girl and received most of the spray. "Hey!" Ash exclaimed, sitting up and letting Pikachu roll off his back.

Chandler quickly turned around. Of course, it was Brock (seriously, who else would it be?). "What are you _doing?_" Chandler shouted.

"Nothing," Brock said, seeming a little confused. "I was just trying to strike up a conversation!"

"By creepily saying 'hi' to me while I'm not looking?"

"I didn't mean to scare you!" Brock was now slightly irritated and was staring down at Chandler.  
>"Well you did!" Chandler stood up defiantly and stared down at Brock.<p>

"But it was an accident!" Brock also stood up and stared down at Chandler.

"I don't care!" Chandler tried to stare down at Brock but, unfortunately, Brock was maybe nine inches taller than her. She tried standing on her tip toes, but that gave her maybe only an inch of more height. This made Chandler even more irritated. She clenched her fists.

That's when she heard a chuckle. She angrily looked into Brock's eyes and saw that it was him who had done it. "What's so _funny?_" Chandler said, almost yelling now.

Brock's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Shut up!" Chandler yelled, very angry.

"It's just," Brock tried to say in between breaths, "It's just you're so hilarious when you're mad!"

"_What?"_

Brock's laughter intensified. Chandler wanted to push him down to the ground, him being unstable and off balance because of the laughter, but she knew that would probably just make him laugh more. She took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. It worked, and she knew her face was less red, and that her emerald eyes weren't blazing as much. Strangely enough, she heard Brock doing the same thing. Both had calmed down, and everything was quiet…for a second.

Suddenly, Ash burst out laughing. He rolled on his back; he was laughing so hard.

Chandler tried not to be angry. "What's wrong now?"

"You are so much like Misty!" Ash said in between laughs. "All you need is red hair!"

Chandler looked to Brock, confused. "Misty?"

"She's a friend of ours," Brock explained. Then, with a smile on his face, he whispered to her, "And, secretly, Ash likes her, but he will never admit it." Brock looked at Chandler with mock-seriousness. "You didn't hear it from me."

Finally, Chandler smiled and laughed. Ash, forgetting his laughter, looked at Chandler. "What's wrong?"

Both Brock and Chandler laughed. Ash just looked confused.

"Well, that was weird," Brock noted after he and Chandler calmed down.

"Why?" Chandler asked.

"Well, for one, we sure laughed a lot." Chandler nodded, smiling at the memory. She waited for Brock to go on, but he was quiet. She looked at Brock, and found him lost in a reverie.

"Um, Brock?" Brock turned to Chandler with a start, and he looked at her for a second.

Then he said, "What?"

"Um, the second thing…?" Chandler blushed a little, slightly embarrassed, thinking she had said the wrong thing.

Brock was silent again for a second. "Nothing," he finally said.

"Oh, s-sorry," Chandler said, her whole face a light shade of pink. Then, awkwardly turning to both Brock and Ash, she said, "Um, we should probably keep going."

Chandler continued her previous pace, leaving Ash and Brock many feet behind her. Ash and Brock walked at a much slower pace. "Hey Brock, what were you going to say?" Ash asked.

Brock turned to Ash. "Well…I discovered that Chandler was a much different girl than I originally thought. At first, I thought she was quiet and shy, but really, beneath that shy exterior, she's loud, funny, good-natured, and…." Brock trailed off.

Ash grinned. "What's wrong, Brock? Lost for words for once?"

Brock quickly turned on Ash. "Not at all! I just…ran out of adjectives!"

"Isn't that what's called being lost for words?" Ash's grin grew larger. "You are _never _lost for words around girls! Why around Chaney?"

A very small, light pink blush appeared on the bridge of Brock's nose. "No reason. None at all. What are you implying?"

"You know very much what I am implying."

"What's he implying?"

Both boys jumped. Chandler had suddenly appeared. Apparently, being bored and wanting to part of the boys' conversation, she had slowed her pace enough to hear Ash's last sentence.

"N-nothing!" Brock said a little too quickly.

Ash grinned broadly. "Oh, nothing. We were just having a friendly argument."

Chandler raised one eyebrow. She looked at Ash, grinning so broadly it looked like his cheeks hurt, and at Brock, who was glaring at Ash, his face tinged slightly pink. She just shrugged. "Come on, let's keep going," she said, walking on. The boys also started walking.

Ash, still grinning, whispered in Brock's ear, "I bet the other adjective you were thinking of was 'cute'."

Brock glared at Ash, then grinned mischievously. "No, I bet that's what you think of Misty." Ash looked incredulously at Brock. "I mean, why else would you think of a connection between her and Chandler?"

"Why you-" Ash was cut off by Brock running off, avoiding Ash's inevitable punishment. Ash chased after him, yelling while he ran, but was slowed down by the Chimchar in his arms. Brock looked back at Ash, grinning. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking where he was going, and ran right into Chandler, landing right on top of her.

Ash caught up to them and grinned down at Brock. "Having fun?"

Brock immediately jumped up off of Chandler. He pointed a finger an inch away from Ash's nose, ready to yell a list of accusations, until he heard Chandler, who had apparently gotten up, yell, "WHAT WAS THAT?"

Brock's head sank. "Great, here we go again."

Dawn, for once, walked joyfully. Or, at least, she tried to walk joyfully. The only thing interfering with her joy was Paul. He was absolutely silent as he walked and had said only a few words to Dawn after she woke up. He was acting as if last night had never happened. Dawn was almost completely sure last night would change everything… _Well, now it has, but not the way you expected it,_ Dawn thought, frowning for a second.

She wanted to never admit it, but she had to now: she kind of liked Paul. She would never admit it to others, but to herself, she could now admit. And after last night, she was positive Paul kind of liked her, too. He had acted so…kind and warm, totally unlike himself. Dawn very much appreciated this side of Paul. She knew deep down that he had never acted this way for anyone. And for all people, he acted this way for her.

Being the hopeless romantic she is, she had so many wild fantasies about what would happen to them after the event; in fact, she had dreamt about one of those very fantasies the night before.

But now, seeing Paul being even colder than before, Dawn realized that none of those fantasies, even the ones that were the most realistic, would ever happen. Dawn was hurt.

But she could never admit it. Maybe the reason Paul was cold now was because he thought she was weak. He had every right (and more than enough evidence) to suggest she was, so why wouldn't he think that? He assumed Ash was weak with one meeting. Dawn was certain Paul thought her to be weak. And again, Dawn was hurt.

But there was nothing she could do about it. _I'll think about it tomorrow. No need to think about it now._

Instead, she acted happy (more like pretended). She had many reasons to be happy: she was alive, Paul was alive, and she had a Leafeon.

Well, it wasn't really hers, but it felt like it was hers. After meeting the Leafeon, she felt a bond with the Pokémon.

"_What's that?" Dawn had asked, looking at the Leafeon lying next to Paul in the campsite that morning._

"_A Leafeon," Paul said bluntly before starting to clean up the campsite. Those were the only words he said to Dawn that day. _

"_It's so cute!" Dawn squealed, sitting down next to the Leafeon. She turned to Paul to see what he thought, but he had ignored her. He turned his back to her and walked over to the nearby stream to gather some water. _

_Dawn looked confused for a second but shook it off and turned to the Leafeon with a smile. "So, what are you doing here?"_

_The Leafeon cocked its head, its brown eyes connecting with Dawn's blue. Then it smiled broadly and jumped on Dawn._

"_Aw, you're so cute," Dawn said, holding to Leafeon in her arms. She held the Leafeon out a little and looked at it. "Where's your trainer?"_

_Leafeon just shook its head. "You don't have one?" Dawn asked. Leafeon nodded. _

_Dawn smiled. "Then why don't you come with us?" Again, she turned to Paul for his response. Again, he ignored her, even though she had seen him glancing at her. Hurt reflected in Dawn's eyes. She was very disappointed and very confused. She looked back at Leafeon, sympathy shining in its eyes. Something seemed very familiar about those eyes…_

"_The fire!" Dawn exclaimed. "You were the Pokémon that healed Paul!" _

_Unbeknownst to Dawn, Paul quickly turned to the blunette upon hearing those words, then quickly turned away. _

_Leafeon nodded. "And you used Rain Dance, too, to stop the fire, right?" Dawn asked._

_Again, Leafeon nodded. Dawn smiled. "Wow, thanks! I barely even know you, yet you saved my life. And Paul's life, too." Dawn glanced at Paul, who, again, was ignoring her. Dawn frowned and felt a few tears spring to her eyes. She quickly shook them off and turned back to Leafeon with a sad smile. Leafeon licked Dawn's hand with sympathy. Dawn smiled. "Thanks, Leafeon."_

Now, the three of them were traveling together. Dawn and Leafeon somewhat-joyfully walked with a quick pace, but neither of them could walk as fast as Paul, who always walked quickly. But Dawn didn't really care. She didn't have anything to say to him anyway, and she had Leafeon to talk to, anyway.

But she still felt lonely. She kept wondering, _What went wrong?_

Woah, that was pretty good, if I do say so myself.

So, what's happening with Brock and Chandler? (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

And what will happen to Dawn when she finds out the real reason Paul is being so cold? Will Paul really be able to leave? What will happen to Dawn if he does leave? Does Ash really like Misty? Oh, of course he does, but that's not important here (sorry all you non-Pokeshippers). The real question is: what did you think of this one? Criticism and praise equally welcome!

And, just so you know, you might have noticed I've been updating this story every day for the past four or so days. That's going to stop now, since I haven't finished writing the sixth chapter. Sorry… But don't worry! I'll try making the sixth one good to compensate!

Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

I'm back! Here is the sixth installment of _Hearthome Destiny!_ Enjoy!

I'm sorry I haven't done ANYTHING in many months… since school started, I haven't had time to update or anything. I probably won't be able to update anymore until my next break…sorry guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters. If I did, you'd be sure everything I write here would happen in the show! Or, at least, something similar to this would happen.

It was night time. The sky grew dark, the stars barely visible in the sky. Dawn, Paul, and the recently added member Leafeon, continued walking despite the cold of night and the exhaustion of the group. This was due to Paul, who usually continued traveling way into the night when he was traveling alone. Ash, Brock, and Chandler had camped for the night, since Ash and Brock were too tired to continue and were used to camping earlier in the evening. Chandler really wanted to keep going, but the rest of the group wouldn't let her.

"But guys-"

"No, Chaney! We've been walking for five hours straight! It's late and we're tired. Come on, let's go to bed."

Chandler sighed. "Fine." She watched as Ash and Brock rolled out two sleeping bags. She awkwardly stood around. Ash and Brock didn't notice this until they were in their sleeping bags.

"Oh, um, you don't have a sleeping bag?" Ash asked.

"No, I kind of forgot…" She rubbed the back of her neck.

Ash looked toward Dawn's bag, which they had been carrying with them the whole journey. "Well, we have Dawn's bag, and I bet her sleeping bag's in there."

"I'll look," Brock said as he climbed out of his sleeping bag and walked over to Dawn's bag. He took a quick peek in it, then frowned.

"What's wrong, Brock?" Ash asked.

Brock looked to Chandler. "Well, you're not going to like this, but… there's no sleeping bag in here."  
>"What? Why not?" Chandler asked.<p>

"We kind of left the bag alone for a day while we were lost in that forest, so…," Ash said, embarrassed.

"Anyone might have taken it," Brock finished.

Chandler sighed. "That's alright. I've slept on the ground before."

She was just about to lie down on the ground when Ash said, "You could always share a sleeping bag with one of us."  
>Chandler immediately turned deep red. Brock slapped his forehead. "Ash, no. Not a good idea."<br>"But she'll get cold-"

"Just drop it, Ash," Brock said, also turning a bit red.

Ash looked at the both of them for a minute then also turned a bit red as he realized what they were thinking.

"Ohhhhh, I get it. Sorry."

"Here," Brock said to Chandler, "you can have my sleeping bag. I'll sleep on the ground."  
>Chandler blushed. "No, no, it's fine. I don't want you to be cold tonight because of me-"<p>

"Don't worry, I hardly ever get cold. Besides, I can get a fire going to keep me warm for a little while."

"Are you sure?"

Brock smiled kindly. "Of course." He gestured to the sleeping bag. "Your bed awaits."

Chandler smiled. "Thanks, Brock," she whispered before climbing in the sleeping bag and closing her eyes to fall asleep.

Brock watched her for a few seconds before turning to find a place to sleep. Suddenly, he heard someone chuckle. He turned and saw that it was Ash, looking at him from his sleeping bag.

"So, who doesn't like Chaney again?" he asked, grinning.

Brock glared at him. "Go to bed, Ash."

"But, Paul, it's late. Can't we go to bed?"

Dawn, dragging her feet with every step, begged her silent traveling partner to camp for the night.

Unfortunately, Paul stayed, well, silent. He had been ignoring her all day.

Dawn sighed and looked to Leafeon for support. Unfortunately, she didn't watch where she was going and ran right into something. "Oof!" she fell down hard. "Ow…" She looked up to see that she had run into Paul, who was looking down and actually making eye contact with her.

"We're setting up camp," he said, speaking the first complete sentence to her that day. Before Dawn could respond, he immediately began setting up camp.

Dawn was awestruck. Paul had actually spoken _words _to her. He actually _looked _at her. But what did he have to say? Only that they were going to set up camp. She had been looking forward to whatever he would say to her, even if it was a sarcastic remark. In fact, she would have preferred that, since then she would have known the real Paul was back. She would have known the cold Paul that was currently setting up a fire pit had burned away, leaving the old Paul that she thought _might _have actually liked her. But no, the cold Paul was still there. Dawn felt defeated and stupid for having believed that Paul would actually like her and stop being so cold to her. She sat there on the ground, not having picked herself up yet, tears stinging her eyes. She wanted to sit there, wallowing in her own misery, but she knew that wouldn't help anything.

Dawn finally got off the ground, dusting herself off. She felt something nuzzling her leg and found Leafeon trying to comfort her. Dawn smiled down at him. "Thanks, Leafeon." She sighed. "I really shouldn't have expected so much, huh?" Leafeon looked up at her, his eyes wise, looking as if he understood her pain.

Unbeknownst to them, Paul had heard every word. But he didn't care. Or, at least, he didn't want to care. Caring would interfere with his plans for the night. And his plans for the rest of his life.

It was now midnight. Dawn had resorted to sleeping on the cold hard ground. Paul hadn't started a fire, and he didn't have to tell her why. The whole event in the forest had scarred her enough to be very afraid of fire, and she was sure Paul would feel uncomfortable around fire, too. Leafeon slept next to Dawn, providing her with a source of heat.

Paul slept a good distance away. He didn't want to wake them when he got up.

After a few more hours of sleep, Paul quietly got up. He was a master with stealth, and he was sure he would be able to get away safely. He took one more good look around the campsite before he left. He saw Dawn and the Leafeon sleeping, but they were facing away from him, so he couldn't see their faces. _Why do I need to see them at all? I might see them each time I get my badges, and in the Pokémon League, but if I get my badges quickly, I might not have to see them at all. _After thinking this, Paul suddenly felt nauseous. He didn't feel like walking. But he had to. He had to get away. It was the only way.

As Paul turned to go, he heard a small noise. He recognized it right away, which made him angry with himself. It was Dawn. He walked one step closer to her, only one step, to see what was wrong.

She was talking in her sleep, most likely having a nightmare. He could barely make out her words, but he could hear a few. "No, no…get away….I have to…run, run!" Suddenly she was screaming. Paul was terrified. He wanted to help, which, again, made him angry with himself, but he couldn't. If he woke her up, he wouldn't be able to get away. But what if he just left her there? The thought left him cold in his stomach. He couldn't leave her there. She sounded like she was in pain.

He ran to Dawn and started shaking her. "Wake up! Wake up!" he was somewhat panicking (kind of like in the Paul freak out, but not as much panic). But the screaming wouldn't stop. Something told him this wasn't just any nightmare. "Wake up, Troublesome! Come on!" But it was no use. Paul felt like pulling his hair out. He couldn't do anything. Dawn's screams were getting louder and louder, as if she was in even more pain. _But where is the pain coming from?_

Paul looked around, hoping to find something, when he remembered… _Where is that Leafeon?_ Leafeon was gone, or at least out of sight.

Paul put his head in his hands. He was the only one around to help Dawn, and he had no idea how. He couldn't do anything. He felt _pathetic_.

It was then he heard a small rustling sound coming from the bushes nearby. He turned his head and saw none other than Leafeon emerge. Paul gasped. Not because of Leafeon's appearance, but because of something else. A Pokémon hovered next to Leafeon, her serene face calm. She stared at Paul, almost glaring for a second before turning to Dawn, who was still screaming. Cresselia ducked her head, stood still for a few seconds, and then she was gone.

Chandler awoke with a start, breathing hard. She sat up quickly and looked around. She was in the same spot as she was when she fell asleep. She could see Ash curled up in his sleeping bag with his Pikachu, his hair even messier than before. Nearby was Brock, sleeping on his back on the ground. He was shivering slightly. Chandler frowned. _Might as well give him the sleeping bag. _She crawled out of the sleeping bag and laid it on top of Brock. She chuckled. "Right, you don't get cold." She rolled her eyes and walked off.

Chandler decided to take a stroll around the nearby forest. It was nice and quiet, and from her limited knowledge of the Sinnoh region, she knew that in these very words was a small pond which she could rest nearby. As she was walking through the woods, she found the pond, calm and quiet, its waters reflecting the moonlight. She sat down on a large flat rock near the shore.

Laying on her right forearm, she shifted her body closer to the edge of the pond, close enough to dip her fingers in. Her fingers lightly touched the pond's surface, sending multiple ripples crashing onto the pond's shore. Then they stopped, and the pond was calm again.

Chandler could see her reflection in the pond. Behind her head was a bright moon, which had been full yesterday. The light from the moon lit up the pond. Chandler stared at its beauty and sighed. She felt alone. She had always felt somewhat alone, even with Gardevoir there. She saw girls her own age have their adventures and do contests or battles or whatever they wanted. She saw them laugh with friends and gossip about boys and have boyfriends. She never got to experience any of that. And even though it didn't seem like something she'd enjoy, she missed having never had the opportunity to do any of that.

Chandler scooted herself up and removed her socks and shoes from her feet so that her bare toes could graze the surface of the water. To counteract her feeling of loneliness, she began to sing:

When the night begins to creep,

And fears overwhelm you,

Remember love, forever deep,

Will last and overflow you.

When fire burns and shadows scream,

Beneath the darkened moon,

Always love, so it seems,

Will save you very soon.

And when the tears begin to fall,

Into puddles in the ground,

Forget not and do recall

Love's everlasting sound.

"Chandler?"

Chandler screamed at the sudden sound of the voice. She tried to turn around quickly to face the intruder, but she slipped and fell backwards, right into the pond. Thankfully, the pond wasn't too deep, and she was a strong swimmer, so she could get out fine. Unfortunately, due to the unexpectedness of falling in, she had swallowed some water and, once she reached the shore, was inhibited by a coughing fit.

As her fit subsided, she felt a presence very near her. She didn't even have to look to know who it was.

"Brock, why do you feel the need to sneak up behind me?"

"I do not, that was an accident." He held out his hand to help Chandler get up. Chandler moved some of her long, now wet hair out of her face to look up at the face of Brock. She reluctantly grabbed his hand.

"Accident or not, I'm now soaking wet. And weren't you sleeping?"

Brock pulled Chandler up. "I was. But tonight I woke up and happened to notice that you weren't there, so I went to look for you."

Chandler gave him a small smile. "Thanks, that was sweet of you. But I'm fine, I just needed to walk a little." Chandler noticed that Brock hadn't let go of her hand. "Um…"

"Oh, sorry," Brock quickly let go.

To cover up the awkward silence that followed, Chandler asked, "Do you want to sit? Or…"

"Sure, okay." The two of them sat on the same stone that Chandler was sitting on previously. They both looked at the pond, illuminated by the bright moon.

"I heard you singing," Brock suddenly said.

Chandler's face became a bright red. She'd forgotten about that.

"Oh, right." She laughed a little to cover up her embarrassment. "I hope I didn't sound too bad…"

"No, I thought it was…"

"Awful?" Chandler turned to Brock.

"Beautiful." Brock had turned his head as well. Their eyes locked for a moment before Chandler looked down. Brock, noticing this, also looked away.

Chandler looked back at the pond. She noticed what a beautiful night it was. The inner romantic in her noticed that this was a very romantic spot, indeed. _The perfect spot for a first kiss…_

Chandler blushed at that notion. Her first kiss? With Brock? She hadn't even thought of it. But she didn't want to. She wasn't the kind of girl to have anything romantic happen to her. She doubted whether she would ever have her first kiss. Besides, how could she think of that now when she was so cold?

After her slip into the pond, she had grown considerably colder and was now shivering. Brock seemed to notice as well. "Darn, I should have brought the sleeping bag."

"It's okay," Chandler said in between shivers.

Brock scooted a little closer to Chandler. "I don't want you to get sick. You could easily get pneumonia after getting all wet like that." He delicately put his arms around the shivering girl. Succumbing to his warmth, she shifted closer to him and rested her head on his chest.

_Yes,_ her inner romantic said. _This is definitely the perfect moment._

His warmth was so comforting and Chandler was so tired that eventually she drifted off to sleep. Brock looked down at the girl and smiled. He moved some of her wet hair out of her eyes and looked down at her sweet, sleeping face.

He sighed. _What in the world has happened to me?_

"Okay Paul, your turn. Truth or dare."

"Dare."

"Aw, why can't you pick truth for once?"

After Cresselia disappeared, Dawn stopped screaming and continued to sleep as if nothing had happened. Paul was able to calm himself down now that Dawn was okay. He couldn't leave after that. He was too shaken. He mentally beat himself up a couple times for admitting he was shaken. What was he shaken about? The girl having a little nightmare? What was that even about?

He couldn't shake off the feeling that Dawn was in trouble. Admitting that he was worried about Dawn made him mentally stab himself with a knife over and over again. But it was true. He was worried. That didn't mean he had _feelings_ for this girl. He was just worried because they were…um…acquaintances?

He came close to mentally killing himself for admitting even _that_.

Knowing that he was worried for Dawn, he couldn't leave. He wondered if he'd leave at all. He might be able to later, but for now, he had to stay. Just until Dawn was out of danger.

That next morning, Dawn woke up normally. She admitted to having a nightmare but forgot exactly what happened. Whatever Cresselia had done, it worked.

After mentally torturing himself, poisoning himself, and pushing himself off a roof, Paul allowed himself to actually talk to Dawn. If he was worried about her, he might as well be allowed to talk to her, right? Besides, it was hard not to talk to her, that bubbly, energetic, and arguably cute Dawn with her cute little hair, and those blue eyes…

That deserved a few mental stabs.

Now, Paul and Dawn were playing truth or dare, a good way to pass the time. Leafeon watched.

"What's my dare?"

"Can't you do truth?" Dawn pleaded. "Please?"

Paul sighed. "Why must I do truth?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

"Because." Dawn refused to offer any other reason than that. Honestly, she wanted him to do truth because she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to crack the code that was Paul Shinji. She wanted to break the cold outer shell and see what lay beneath… but she couldn't tell him this. So her only reason was "because".

He sighed again. "Fine, I'll do truth if you stop staring at me with those puppy dog eyes."

Dawn giggled. "Okay. Alright, your question…and don't forget, you _have_ to answer."

Paul narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm a little wary about this question…"

"Oh, no need to worry!" Dawn gave him a huge grin.

"Isn't this usually when Ash says something along the lines of 'and that's when I worry the most'?"

"Shhh!" Dawn waved his question away. "I'm thinking!" Her eyes lit up. "I got it! This is always a fun one. Who was your first kiss?"

Paul stumbled a bit before regaining his composure. "My first what?"

"Your first kiss! Have you even had yours yet…?"

Paul smirked. "Of course I have. How can this" he gestured at his face "not have had its first kiss yet?"

"You seemed a bit worried when I asked it," Dawn said skeptically.

"Her name was Anna." Paul's face became emotionless, as if he was thinking long and hard about what he was saying. "We were ten at the time. I didn't really know her. I had only seen her a couple times walking down the hall. She had long, blonde hair and bright green eyes. She never talked to me. Then one day during lunch she walked by my table and handed me a note. It said 'Meet me on the field near the cherry blossom tree during recess'. So, I went. She was waiting for me by the time I got there. Without saying anything, she walked up to me and kissed me. It lasted for five seconds, and then she left. I was left confused. I thought maybe this meant we were dating." He laughed sadly. "I watched her walk away, and I saw her go to her friends. They handed her some money, laughed, and then walked away. She never talked to me again." Paul had stopped walking at this point. "I was just a bet to her, nothing more."

Dawn looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry. And I thought I had a bad first kiss."

Paul looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What happened?"

"I was kissed by my crush when I was eleven, and right after it happened I slipped and fell right on top of him. A couple of the other kids took pictures, and he never spoke to me again.

Paul repressed a laugh. "That sounds like you, alright."

Dawn glared at his smirking face. "Shut up. I was only eleven anyway, so it's not like it mattered." She started walking away and Paul caught up to her.

"Alright, alright. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Go jump in that river and swim all the way to the next town."

"Hey, I'm not doing that!" Dawn put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"At least I'd get some peace and quiet…" Paul smirked.

"Psh, whatever," said Dawn, turning away from him. "I'm sure deep down you genuinely enjoy my company."

"Sure, _very_ deep down. So deep I don't even feel it."

"Shut up," Dawn said, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow.

Paul glanced at the angered girl and smirked. Continuing to travel with her might be fun. He mentally hit himself with a hammer for that. Well, it'd be fun after controlling his mental self-pain, anyway.

~'***'~

Ash sighed, his brow furrowed. Pikachu, on his shoulder, noticed this and inquired to what was wrong with a quiet "Pika?"

Ash just motioned with his head, since he carried Chimchar (you thought I forgot about him, right? Well, to tell the truth I kind of did… *sweat drop*), to the people walking beside him. Chandler and Brock were so totally engrossed in each other that he couldn't stand it. Well, he couldn't help admitting that he thought it was kind of cute how they were laughing and talking about Lord knows what. But the fact that they couldn't include him in their little conversation bothered him. He had even tried to insert himself into the conversation multiple times.

Once like this:

"So, Chaney, do you like oran berries?" says Brock.

Ash's attempt: "Well, honestly, I think-"

It absolutely fails. "They're my favorite!" Chandler says.

"Weird, mine, too!" Ash can only shake his head.

A second time like this:

"Psychic Pokémon are definitely the best," says Chandler.

Ash's attempt: "Electric seems to be better. I mean, stat-wise-"

It, like the previous one, absolutely fails. "Rock is my favorite, I mean, look at their defense!"

"And that's why rock is my second favorite type!" Wow, how many similar likes can these people have?

And a third time like this:

"Ugh, my hair is all messed up," says Chandler.

Ash's attempt: "And with reason. You haven't brushed it in-"

Do I even have to say it? "No, it's not. It's very… *ahem* very pretty."

"Hehe…thanks, Brock." Ash feels like pulling his hair out of his head.

So now Ash, instead of stupidly attempting once more to become a part of their own little world, he resorted to pouting about it. Pikachu sighed at his childishness.

"Hey, Brock, want to play truth or dare?" Chandler asked Brock.

Ash was surprised when Brock said, "Sure. Ash can join, too."

"Ash?" It was as if Chandler had forgotten Ash was even there. "Oh, sure!"

"I'll go first," Brock said. "Ash, truth or dare?"

Ash, forgetting his pouting, said, "Truth!"

Brock frowned. "Ash, whenever we play this game, you always pick truth! What are you afraid of? That I'm going to dare you to jump into a pool of Sharpedo?"

Ash, with shifty eyes, muttered, "Maybe…"

Chandler laughed. "I don't know. That might be fun to watch."

"ANYWAY." Ash tried to divert the conversation. "Brock, what's my question?"

After a brief period of thinking, Brock finally said with a grin, "Do you admit to liking Misty?"

Ash immediately turned red. "Uh, woah, did I say truth? I meant dare."

Brock's grin became wider. "Then I dare you to answer the question."

Chandler snorted. "This is going to be good."

Ash stuttered. "W-well, it's, um… Well it's not l-like I- Or, uh, she, uh… S-she's, you know, uh, n-nice? And… c-can I stop now?"

"I think he's had enough," Chandler said, grinning at Ash's awkwardness.

"Fine," Brock said, laughing.

Ash glared at him. "My turn, right?"  
>"Yep."<p>

"Then Brock, truth or dare?"

"What about Chan-"

"TRUTH OR DARE?"

"Fine, fine!" Brock said, putting his hands up with his palms facing Ash. "Just calm down! I'll choose dare. Sheesh."

Ash grinned evilly. "Admit your love of a certain person."

Brock almost tripped. Chandler had to grab onto his arm to keep him from falling flat on his face. "Um, of whom?" he asked.

"You know." Ash raised both eyebrows and glanced quickly at Chandler, who was completely oblivious of who they were talking about.

Brock paled. "Uh, no. No I don't."

Ash stepped closer to Brock and said in a voice low enough that Chandler couldn't hear, "Brock, don't pretend like I didn't see you and Chandler this morning." Brock became more pale, as if that was even possible. "Yeah, that's right. I saw you guys. Dude, she was ASLEEP on your LAP. She obviously likes you and you have nothing to keep you from-"

"Uh, what are you guys whispering about?" Chandler's voice interrupted.

"Nothing, nothing!" Brock said, trying to keep cool but failing miserably. "Nothing at all! Just, you know, negotiating a different dare."

"Ah, afraid to say the girl's name?" With a grin, Chandler uncharacteristically walked closer to Brock and in an almost suggestive way whispered in his ear, "Don't worry. I'm sure any girl would be lucky to have you." Brock slowly turned his head to face her. He couldn't spit out any words; he was totally struck dumb. Stepping away and speaking loud enough for both Brock and Ash to hear, she said, "When you man up and try to do the dare, I'll not try to get jealous, okay?" She turned and walked away, continuing down the path and humming.

Both Ash and Brock stared at her as she walked off. They exchanged glances, then Ash smirked.

Brock glared, then quickly walked off to be next to Chandler. Ash laughed, rejoicing in his victory. But upon seeing the lovebirds in yet ANOTHER conversation, he frowned and groaned. Pikachu shook his head.

Woah, I haven't updated in awhile! And I have a perfectly good reason: I've been UBER busy, and it seems the only time I can update is during the summer, and even then it's hard. So don't expect too many updates! Sorry guys…

Anyway, thanks for reading! Again, please comment. Compliments are VERY accepted, though I also welcome criticism.

Thanks y'all!


End file.
